Volume 24 | Number 8083 | 2 RiyalsFriday 22 November 2019 | 25 Rabia I 1441 www.thepeninsula.qa

BUSINESS | 15 SPORT | 19

Pressure on Manchester City ahead of Chelsea clash

Qatar-Turkey trade volume

rises by 85% to QR8.7bn

Sheikha Moza launches new EAA strategy

FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All Foundation (EAA), yesterday announced the launch of a new strategy to ensure primary education to those who are currently out of school in many countries across the globe.

The strategy will be imple-mented through EAA Founda-tion’s Educate A Child pro-gramme, said H H Sheikha Moza during a plenary session of the second day of World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE 2019), at Qatar National Con-vention Center.

“Education Above All Foun-dation has succeeded in enrolling 10 million children back into school. However, according to official statistics, there are still more than 59 million primary-aged children around the world who are not enrolled in schools. Indeed in reality the number of out-of-school children is much larger due to inadequate data monitoring mechanisms for children in geographically

isolated areas,” said H H Sheikha Moza.

“However, in order to innovate new solutions to chal-lenges such as monitoring and statistics, among others, Edu-cation Above All has launched a new strategy to be implemented in select countries with the purpose of ensuring the number of out of school children in these countries reach zero,” she added.

Children do not understand why war is being waged in the first place; children who fail to comprehend why people are fighting among themselves. Children are only considered in staying alive that education became an imagined luxury they yearn for but cannot receive. As a mother, I wonder: What if we

look at these children from our perspective as fathers and mothers, through the same eyes that we view the future of our own children? Are we capable of doing this?” asked H H Sheikha Moza.

She also highlighted about a prototype classroom which was on display at the EAA zone within the WISE Majlis.

The innovative classroom designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid is made to fit any weather condition or environment. “I remember her excitement when I asked her if it was possible for the field of architecture to provide an alternative solution to the tents or temporary wooden buildings typically used for refugee edu-cation,” said H H Sheikha Moza.

“My suggestion resonated with her deep desire to con-tribute and help marginalised children around the world. Sadly, Zaha Hadid passed away before she saw this project become reality,” she added.

H H Sheikha Moza officially unveiled the prototype classroom during her tour of the WISE Majlis.

EAA Foundation and Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy have partnered to fund the construction of these structures. Those will be used during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and then redistributed to Education Above All projects in many countries.

The Education Above All

plenary session was held under the theme ‘Zero Out of School Children’ in the presence of H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation; H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums; Their Excellencies Ministers, dig-nitaries and several others.

The plenary session also fea-tured global education advocates including Silviana Lopez Moreira, First Lady of Paraguay; Graca Machel, Advocate, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Shakira Mebarak Rippoll, singer, philanthropist, and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.

The First Lady of Paraguay

lauded and valued efforts taken by H H Sheikha Moza in serving education around the world. She said that the Government of Par-aguay believed that education was a sacred right for every human being and a path for a better future for children and society. She also mentioned that she has met with H H Sheikha Moza to implement the ‘Educate a Child’ initiative in her country after its impressive success in providing education to more than 10 million children worldwide.

While, Shakira, the Grammy award-winning artist and founder of Barefoot Foundation (Pies Des-calzos), emphasised importance of quality education. �P2

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser addressing a plenary sessions on concluding day of WISE 2019. RIGHT: H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser during a tour of the WISE Majlis. PIC: AR AL BAKER

The new strategy is to be implemented in select countries with the purpose of ensuring the number of out-of-school children in these countries reach zero.

Doha Metro Gold Line preview service beginsSACHIN KUMAR THE PENINSULA

Qatar’s transport sector reached another key milestone yesterday with Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) launching preview service for the Doha Metro Gold Line, which extends from Ras Bu Abboud in the east, to Al Aziziyah in the west.

The launch of new service will not only make it convenient to travel to new areas in Doha but will also make their journey affordable. Travellers will be able to com-plete a one way journey between two sta-tions in Gold and Red Line in just QR2.

The Gold line preview service covers 11 stations, including Ras Bu Abboud, National Museum, Souq Waqif, Bin Mahmoud, Al Sadd, Joaan, Al Sudan, Al Waab, Sport City, Al Aziziyah and interchange station Msheireb.

Customers can now travel between the Doha Metro’s Gold and Red Line through Msheireb station. When interchanging between lines, cus-tomers are not required to tap in and out as long

as they remain within the paid area. All journeys including those requiring an interchange will only cost QR2 in standard and family class, and QR10 in Gold class for one trip.

“The launch of the Metro preview

services has been well received and we’ve had a extremely positive response from our customers. The launch of the Gold Line service is another key milestone for Qatar Rail leading up to the delivery of our fully-fledged integrated network by 2020. In the past few months, we have dedicated our efforts to deliver the expansion of Doha Metro services, and we are ahead of schedule,” Eng. Abdulla Saif Al Sulaiti, Chief of Service Delivery at Qatar Rail.

“With the launch of the Gold Line preview service we are expecting customer numbers to increase considerably as we open up more journey opportunities to explore the city; connecting attractions and lifestyle destinations including, National Museum, Souq Waqif, Al Sadd and Sport City,” he added.

The Gold Line’s operating hours are the same as the Red Line, from 6am to 11pm Sat-urday to Thursday and from 2pm to 11pm on Fridays, with trains operating every five minutes. �P3

Qatar reiterates support to implement charter on children’s rightsQNA NEW YORK

Qatar has reiterated its commitment to the implemen-tation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, stressing that it gives the issue of child protection, espe-cially the right to education, the highest priority

Qatar noted that it collabo-rates with international partners to reach quality education services for 10 million children around the world through the initiatives launched by Edu-cation Above All Foundation (EAA).

This came in a speech delivered by Permanent Repre-sentative of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador, H E Sheikha Alya bint Saif Al Thani, at the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly to cele-brate the 30th anniversary of the UN adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which Qatar was among the first countries to ratify it.

Ambassador H E Sheikha Alya noted the State of Qatar’s support, as it contributed a $50m to support education services provided by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to Palestine

refugees in Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria and Lebanon.

She also referred to Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s announcement in 2018 of Qatar’s pledge to provide quality education to another one million girls by 2021.

As part of the State Qatar’s efforts to support peace-building and the rehabilitation of child soldiers, it pledged $88m to the UN Fund for Recovery, Reconstruction and Development in Darfur, she said, noting in this context the implementation of a social and economic rehabilitation program for demobilized sol-diers, including children.

She also referred to the State of Qatar’s support to rebuild five service complexes in five vil-lages in Darfur, including water stations, primary and secondary schools and a police station in order to create an enabling envi-ronment for children.

Regarding the child’s right to health care, Sheikha Alya said that Qatar provided $70m to assist in the rehabilitation of water and sanitation systems project in Yemen to combat cholera and improve access to safe drinking water that benefits about 8.5 million Yemenis, including about 4.25 million children. �P2

MME opens livestock market in Al ShamalSANAULLAH ATAULLAH THE PENINSULA

The Livestock Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) opened yesterday a live-stock market with abattoir in Al Shamal offering locally-bred sheep and goats at attractive prices.

“The new market will serve as platform for local livestock farms to sell their products directly to customers without middlemen,” said Director of

Livestock Affairs Department Abdul Aziz Al Ziyara while speaking at the opening cer-emony yesterday.

He said that the market offers 10 shaded spaces for live-stock farms to showcase their animals free-of-cost ensuring competitive price for their hard-work, which will help them to turn their farms into commercial ones and increase the production.

“Veterinary doctors are pro-vided to assure on the quality and safety of animals before

selling to the customers,” said Al Ziyara.

Head of the Livestock Health Section at the Department, Saleh Jarullah Al Marri, said that Live-stock Market of Al Shamal is second of its kind after the one which is operating at Al Mazrouah.

“Third Livestock Market with poultry outlets will open in Al Khor by mid 2020 and the fourth one will be commissioned in Al Sheehaniya,” said Al Marri.

“The number of shaded spaces at the Livestock Market of Al

Mazrouah increased from 20 to 37 last year, where 35 local farms are participating,” said Al Marri adding that sale has reached over 300 heads per week.

He said that the Livestock Affairs Department has planned to establish outlets for collecting milk from local farms at the markets which will open in live-stock farm complexes.

“The project will be launched soon under the major plan of MME to develop livestock farms and support their owners,” said Al Marri. �P3

All journeys including those requiring an interchange will only cost QR2 in standard and family class, and QR10 in Gold class for one trip.

FAZEENA SALEEM THE PENINSULA

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE 2019) concluded yesterday with a global call to rethink about the approach to education in the changing world, in the presence of H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.

The Summit held under the theme ‘UnLearn ReLearn: What it means to be Human’ saw a record 3,500 participants, including almost 900 students. The closing plenary session of the WISE 2019 was attended by a number of Their Excel-lencies Ministers, dignitaries, policymakers, global edu-cation leaders and others.

The Closing Plenary focused on ‘Rediscovering the purpose of education’ fea-tured a special address by 2019 WISE Prize for Education Laureate, Larry Rosenstock,

CEO and Founding Principal of High Tech High (HTH), who was presented with the accolade by H H Sheikha Moza during the opening ceremony of the Summit. “Our children need us. We need to help them. We need to listen to them. And we need to do this together,” said Rosenstock.

The closing plenary was moderated by Yalda Hakim, Presenter-International Cor-respondent, BBC World News, and speakers included Jason Silva, Futurist, National Geo-graphic; Steven Van Zandt, Founder, Rock and Roll Forever Foundation; Emtithal Mahmoud, Poet and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO, WISE.

Yiannouka highlighted the importance of continuing WISE’s advocacy work around the world.

“Humanity is engaged in a race to become wise enough to make judicious use of the incredibly powerful technol-ogies that we have at our dis-posal. I believe that we can win this race. An educated world is a healthier, a more pros-perous, a more peaceful, and a fairer world. We cannot leave anyone behind,” said

Yiannouka. “We want to con-tinue running programs that celebrate innovation in edu-cation and empower edu-cation entrepreneurs and innovators. WISE wants to continue making things happen at multiple levels; we want to continue with research that informs policy and practice,” he added.

Yiannouka said that the next WISE will take place in Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia in May 2020.

WISE 2019 topics featured plenaries, roundtables, work-shops, and panel discussions ranged from youth identity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, to

increasing student engagement in learning, empowering youth through experiential learning, and migration and dis-placement in the MENA region.

The WISE Majlis, based on the traditional Arabic majlis gathering space, remains one of the main features of the summit. This year, the WISE Majlis was geared towards interactive sessions such as Pitch It, a start-up talent show where innovators had the opportunity to present their projects to a jury made up of a journalist, an edu-cator, a youth, and a business leader. The hands-on learning labs and creative installations drew 820 pupils

from schools around the country.

The Meet the Author ses-sions at the WISE Majlis was also the focal point for the authors of the eight WISE Research reports recently unveiled, among them Pro-moting Youth Well-Being Through Health and Edu-cation: Insights and Opportu-nities; Global Sports Devel-opment Systems and Athletes’ Access to Education; and The Pursuit of Institutional Excel-lence: Case Studies from Qatar.

WISE, a biennial summit, has become a premier inter-national education gathering since its establishment in 2009.

02 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019HOME

WEATHER TODAY

Courtesy: Qatar Meteorology Department

Minimum Maximum19oC 25oC

HIGH TIDE 02:00 – 12:25 LOW TIDE 06:14 – 20:23

Scattered clouds, moderate temperature

daytime and relatively cold by night.

FAJRSHOROOK

04. 36 AM05. 56 AM

11. 20 AM02. 23 PM

04. 46 PM06. 16 PM

ZUHRASR

MAGHRIBISHA

PRAYER TIMINGS

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, during the closing session of WISE 2019. PICS: A R AL-BAKER

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, touring the WISE Majlis, an interactive space for participants to discuss and showcase innovations in education and network with fellow participants. PIC: A R AL-BAKER

WISE Summit 2019 concludes with call to rediscover purpose of education

Prince Nikolaos opens solo exhibition at KataraRAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

Prince Nikolaos draws a parallel between Qatari desert and Greek seascape in 23 stunning photos on display in his solo exhibition dubbed “Aegean Desert” launched on Wednesday at Katara Cultural Village.

The opening event was attended by Qatar Museums Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani along with Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti and other officials and VIP guests.

An avid traveler and nature lover, Prince Nikolaos has been active in the field of artistic pho-tography since 2013. In 2016, his work called H2Orizons — a mul-tidimensional triptych of photo-graphs combined music and sound effects - was featured during the ‘New York Times Art For Tomorrow’ Conference in Doha.

Shortly, he returned to Qatar exploring the country whose terrain is different from Greece, and photographing the desert which sparked his interest in the similarities of the desert and the sea specifically the geometric formations. Upon his return to Greece, he took photos of the sea related to his memories of Qatar.

In a first institutional cultural initiative between Greece and

Qatar, the artist transcends geo-graphical boundaries creating two exhibitions in Greece and Qatar presenting images of Qatari desert and the Aegean sea side by side.

In Athens, he exhibits photos inside a specially created Bedouin tent with a majlis in the courtyard of Benaki Museum of Islamic Art. In Doha, he exhibits four photos in an Aegean windmill in the outdoor space beside Katara Building 47 where the other 19 photos are on view.

Music is integral part to both exhibitions with moving com-positions created by Greek com-poser Evanthia Reboutsika and

Qatari composer Dana Alfardan being played to help fully immerse the viewer in the installations.

The aim of the project is to demonstrate the similarities of two completely different terrains and geographic locations, while focusing on the unexpected shared visual imagery between the two countries.

“It is a very special art exhi-bition that extends bridges of communication, not only between two different places but between two ancient cultures as well,” said Al Sulaiti.

He stressed that the exhi-bition is consistent with the role

played by Katara in promoting openness of different cultures and bringing people together, and that it documents the common links between the desert and the sea, despite all differences to create a spec-tacular visual dialogue. He pointed out that the exhibition is a cultural initiative reflecting the high level of cultural exchange between Qatar and Greece, which will open broad prospects for closer cooperation and greater exchange.

The public has the oppor-tunity to see Doha exhibition until January 15 next year at Katara Building 47.

Qatar Museums Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, along with Prince Nikolaos, during the launch of a solo exhibition at Katara Cultural Village.

Sheikha Moza launches new EAA strategyFROM PAGE 1

“Education is the great equaliser! That is why I started the most important project of my life to bring quality education to all children.

“One of the most meaningful things I have done in my lifetime, even more than winning Grammys I think,” she said. The Education Above All Foundation’s plenary and panel discussion “Zero Out of School Children” at WISE 2019 emphasised the persistent need to reach those young people whose right to education remains unfulfilled and how the issue of dropout is a global crisis, not just a problem.

Qatar reiterates support to implement charter on children’s rightsFROM PAGE 1

She expressed Qatar’s pride of its close partnership with Unicef in the implementation of many projects and programs, which have contributed to saving the lives of children, defending their rights and helping them to realize their potential, adding that this part-nership culminated recently in the provision of $8m in financial support to Unicef’s core resources for the period (2019-2020), as well as the opening of a Unicef office soon in Doha.

Qatar is preparing to open the analysis and communication center of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in Doha, which would con-tribute significantly to enhancing knowledge and skills related to the protection of children affected by armed conflict in the region, she said. She welcomed the launch of the results of the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty on November 18, 2019, in Geneva, in which Qatar contributed $100,000.

Qatar condemns attack on Army patrol in MaliQNA/DOHA

The State of Qatar expressed its strong condemnation and denun-ciation of the attack that targeted an army patrol in northern Mali, killing and wounding dozens of people. In a statement issued yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm stance on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and reasons.

The statement voiced the State of Qatar’s condolences to the families of victims as well as the government and people of Mali, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

The Summit held under the theme ‘UnLearn ReLearn: What it means to be Human’ saw a record 3,500 participants, including almost 900 students.

Minister of Education meets with his counterparts

03FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 HOME

Foreign Ministry Secretary-General meets European officialThe Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Dr Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi met yesterday with the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides. They discussed Qatar-EU bilateral relations and means to support and develop them, in addition to key topics of mutual interest.

RAYNALD C RIVERA THE PENINSULA

The first edition of the Interna-tional Perfumes and Cosmetics Exhibition, the largest dedicated fair in Doha to market and promote perfumes, incense, and cosmetics, opened at Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Center (DECC) yesterday.

Fragrance lovers flocked to the exhibition to purchase the latest and most luxurious scents at competitive prices and take advantage of the wide range of offers.

Ibtihaj Al Ahmadani, Qatar Chamber Board Member and Chairperson of Qatari Business-women Forum, and Basima Youssef Al Dheim, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales at Kuwait International Fair

Company opened the exhibition with some VIP Guests and vis-itors. Following the opening cer-emony, Al Ahmadani toured the pavilions of the expo and was briefed by exhibitors on their displayed items.

Speaking to local media, Al Ahmadani paid tribute to the quality and variety of displayed items, noting that the expo offered a good opportunity for Qatari businessmen and

businesswomen to meet their Kuwaiti counterparts to discuss ways of developing joint coop-eration in perfumes and cos-metics sectors.

She stressed that Qatar and Kuwait’s private sectors are in constant contact and continuing cooperation in identifying investment opportunities available in both brotherly coun-tries. Al Ahmadani also affirmed Qatar Chamber’s support for these exhibitions that aim at enhancing trade cooperation between Qatar and Kuwait.

Al Dheim said: “we are glad today to launch the International Perfumes and Cosmetics Exhi-bition in Qatar, with companies representing exclusive perfume brands, along with local, regional premium and luxury brands and dealers showcase their collec-tions of perfumes, incense, and cosmetics. We thank Qatari Authorities and DECC man-agement for their effort and also thank all Qatari and Kuwaiti companies for their participation and reconfirm our commitment to present a well-organized fair that meet the expectation of vis-itors and exhibitors alike.”

Running till November 26, the exhibition is organized by Kuwait international Fair Company in collaboration with Attex International Event Man-agement. Kuwait International Fair Company is the largest organizer of exhibitions in Kuwait, and one of the leading event management companies in the region. It organizes world-class exhibitions in various fields, including technology, home ware, perfumes, and cosmetics, amongst others.

Ibtihaj Al Ahmadani (centre), Qatar Chamber Board Member and Chairperson of Qatari Businesswomen Forum, and Basima Youssef Al Dheim (left), Executive Director of Marketing and Sales at Kuwait International Fair Company, touring one of the stalls at the first edition of the International Perfumes and Cosmetics Exhibition after its launch yesterday at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. PIC: BAHER AMIN/THE PENINSULA

ROLACC, University of Sussex celebrate graduation of new class of Masters studentsQNA/DOHA

The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC) yesterday celebrated the grad-uation of a second batch of Masters students in ‘Corruption, Law and Governance’ in part-nership with the British University of Sussex.

In this ceremony, 18 students from Qatar and other countries graduated in the presence of Attorney General and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre (ROLACC) H E Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority H E Hamad bin Nasser Al Misnad and Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Qatar Ajay Sharma.

In a speech during the cer-emony, H E the Attorney General congratulated the graduates for obtaining a master’s degree in corruption, law and governance from a university considered as one of the oldest universities in this field.

He said the University of Sussex is the best university to offer this kind of programs, espe-cially since it has a research center specialized in the field which is the first of its kind in the world, in addition the judicial system in Britain is one of the best judicial systems in the world, and ROLACC chose the University of Sussex to offer this program.

The Attorney General spoke to graduates saying that what they achieved today came with the direct support of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as His Highness believes that justice and equality must be

one of the established principles in the country, stressing that the State of Qatar supports every-thing that will achieve justice and meet the objectives of com-bating corruption and achieving good governance.

He added that today the stu-dents obtained an advanced degree in combatting corruption from the most prestigious uni-versities in the world, and they must be cautious in working life because they have chosen a risky path, stressing that those who do not have solid will face great problems in this area. He stressed that the main objective is to serve the homeland under the wise leadership of H H the Amir and the service of humanity.

President of the University of Sussex Prof. Adam Tickell, praised the collaboration with ROLACC to establish the master

program in corruption, law and governance, which was adapted to suit the nature and specificity of the region to meet the aspira-tions of those in charge of this field, in order to graduate cadres with sufficient knowledge in this area.

The President of the Uni-versity of Sussex reviewed the great experience of the Uni-versity in the field of anti-cor-ruption programs through its research center and its long experience in master’s programs where the British University this year graduated 26 batches in this specialization around the world.

The Master program is offered by experts and aca-demics from the University of Sussex who come specifically to Qatar to give lectures and sem-inars to students interested by the program from all over the world.

First International Perfumes and Cosmetics Fair opens

MME opens livestock market in Al ShamalFROM PAGE 1

Lauding the efforts of the Min-istry of Municipality and Envi-ronment for local farms, a member of Central Municipal Council (CMC), Nasser bin Hassan Al Kubaisi, said that the new market will encourage the local farmers to increase the products.

“The abattoir will be run by Widam Food Company from

6am to 5pm,” said an official from the company adding that Widam is also offering variety of sheep at the market. He said that animals will be slaughtered at the abattoir after conducting tests by veterinary doctor to ensure whether they are fit for human consumption.

To promote local products, the livestock markets provide

free-of-cost shaded spaces to local productive farms directly without brokers. First market opened in Al Mazrouah with the participation of 17 local livestock farms in the first year where about 500 heads of goats and sheep were sold out. A total of 36 farms participated in 2018 where the sale reached over 10,000 heads.

The Director of Livestock Affairs Department, Abdul Aziz Al Ziyara, and Head of Livestock Health Section at the Department, Saleh Jarullah Al Marri, with officials and guests at the opening ceremony of Livestock Market in Al Shamal.

The Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr Mohammed Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi, held several meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) 2019, at the Qatar National Convention Center. H E Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi met with Minister of Education and Science of Republic of Paraguay, Eduardo Petta; Minister of Education of Palestine, Dr. Marwan Awartani; Minister of Education and Vocational Training of Djibouti, Moustapha Mohamed Mahamoud; Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Nepal, Giriraj Mani Pokhrel; and Minister of Education of the Republic of Mali, Teulenta Timur. During the meeting they discussed ways of cooperation in education sector, how to exchange experiences and best practices, in addition to the most important issues of common concern and ways to support them.

Doha Metro Gold Line preview service beginsFROM PAGE 1

New metrolink routes will be added by Qatar Rail’s feeder bus service provider Mowasalat, trans-porting passengers to and from metro sta-tions and surrounding areas. Metro pas-sengers can view available routes using Qatar Rail’s and Mow-asalat’s mobile apps or websites. “Qatar Rail will be adding and extending its metrolink routes to new neigh-borhoods and areas, enabling a seamless journey for cus-tomers,” Qatar Rail said in a statement.

“Our stations carry Doha Metro’s distinct architectural identity, “Vaulted Spaces”, the network’s contemporary design imprint, reflecting regional her-itage through open spaces that mimic traditional Bedouin tents. The stations’ interior spaces and floors signifies the color gold,” said the company. Qatar Rail said that all Gold Line stations are now ready to welcome cus-tomers. Doha Metro flags have been placed at the entrances of

all Gold line stations. “Starting of new service is a

big relief for me because now I can avoid heavy rush on roads while going to sports city. I will not only save money while trav-elling on the metro but will also save my time,” Mohammed Fadi told The Peninsula. He was among the persons who used Gold Line service on its launch day.

Travellers can purchase Travel Cards at metro stations. Pre-loaded Standard Travel Cards can be purchased from licensed retailers including Al Meera, Lulu, Carrefour, Jumbo Electronics, and Family Food Centre. Gold club travel cards are available from dedicated gold club offices at all Metro stations.

Abdulla Al Sulaiti, Chief of Operations.

Armenian President leaves DohaQNA/DOHA

The President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, left Doha yesterday morning after an official visit to the country.

The Armenian President and the accompanying delegation were seen off upon departure at

Hamad International Airport by Minister of Transport and Com-munications, H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Qatar’s Ambassador to Armenia, Mohammed bin Hamad Al Fuhaid Al Hajeri and the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Qatar, Gegham Gharibjanian.

Graduated students with Attorney- General and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre (ROLACC), H E Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri.

Fragrance lovers flocked to the exhibition to purchase the latest and most luxurious scents at competitive prices and take advantage of the wide range of offers.

04 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Netanyahu indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust

A look at the scandalsAP/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Here’s a look at the three main cases concerning the prime minister:

TELECOM TRADE-OFFThe most damaging case against Netanyahu involves an influence-ped-

dling scandal in which two of his formerly closest aides are testifying against him on suspicions of promoting regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel’s Bezeq telecom company. In return, Bezeq’s popular news site, Walla, allegedly provided favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his family.Nir Hefetz, a former Netanyahu family spokesman, and Shlomo Filber, the former director of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu, cut deals with prosecutors after they were arrested along with Bezeq’s controlling shareholder Shaul Elo-vitch, his wife, son and other top Bezeq executives. Former journalists at the Walla news site have attested to being pressured to refrain from negative reporting of Netanyahu. The charges here include bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

LAVISH GIFTSPolice recommended indicting Netanyahu over accepting nearly $300,000

in gifts from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. Police say that in return for jewelry, expensive cigars and champagne, Netanyahu operated on Milchan’s behalf on U.S. visa matters, tried to legislate a generous tax break for him and sought to promote his interests in the Israeli media market. Police have not commented on what Packer, who reportedly sought Israeli residency status for tax purposes, may have received, and Netanyahu has said all he received were gifts from friends. Longtime aide Ari Harow is a state witness in this case. The charges include fraud and breach of trust.

MEDIA MEDDLINGPolice have also recommended indicting Netanyahu for offering a news-

paper publisher legislation that would weaken his paper’s main rival in return for more favorable coverage. Netanyahu reportedly was recorded asking Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the Yediot Ahronot daily, for positive coverage in exchange for helping to weaken Israel Hayom, a free pro-Netanyahu news-paper that had cut into Yediot’s business. Israel Hayom is financed by Netan-yahu’s American billionaire friend Sheldon Adelson and largely serves as the prime minister’s mouthpiece. Netanyahu has noted that a proposed law to weaken Israel Hayom never passed and that he had even dissolved his coa-lition and called a new election in 2015 because of his opposition to the pro-posal. Harow is a state witness in this case, too. According to TV reports based on recently leaked police investigations, Adelson’s wife also testified that Sara Netanyahu exerted pressure on her to provide gifts and favorable media cov-erage. The charges include fraud and breach of trust.

Three more protesters killed in central BaghdadAP/BAGHDAD

Three people died and 24 were wounded in renewed clashes in central Baghdad between anti-government demonstrators and security forces, bringing the death toll for the day to seven, Iraqi security and hospital offi-cials said yesterday.

The clashes, the deadliest in recent days, erupted on the cap-ital’s Rasheed Street, a cultural center known for its old crum-bling buildings. Security forces fired live ammunition, tear gas and sound bombs to disperse dozens of protesters.

The officials spoke on con-dition of anonymity in line with regulations. Two protesters were killed when tear gas canisters struck them and one was killed by live ammunition. The clashes took place on the street near Ahrar Bridge, the officials say.

Earlier, four protesters were killed in fighting near Ahrar and Sinak bridges. One protester was killed when security forces used live rounds to repel

demonstrators on Ahrar Bridge. The other protester was killed when a tear gas cannister was

fired on Sinak Bridge, hitting him in the head. Two protesters later succumbed to their injuries.

Protesters have been occu-pying parts of Baghdad’s three main bridges - Sinak and Ahrar

and Jumurhiya - leading to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government.

Fighting also resumed over-night in the Shia holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, between protesters and security forces.

Tents have been set up under the bridges and also on central Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement, where first-aid volunteers treat those wounded by pieces of exploded tear gas cannisters and live fire.

“Around 1:30 am the shooting started with live ammu-nition, tear gas and sound gre-nades,” said one volunteer, speaking on condition of ano-nymity for fear of government reprisal. “There were martyrs and we received several injured” people with breathing difficulties and bullet wounds.

In Karbala, the protesters threw crudely made fire bombs, also known as Molotov cocktails, at security forces while anti-riot police responded by throwing stones at the protesters.

An Iraqi woman demonstrator taking part in the ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, yesterday.

Lebanon Speaker schedules parliament session next weekREUTERS/BEIRUT

Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday scheduled a session of parliament next week to discuss draft legislation on banking secrecy and returning stolen state funds, state news agency NNA reported.

Protests fuelled in part by anger over corruption forced parliament to postpone on Tuesday, delaying what would have been its first session in two months.

Berri called for two parlia-mentary committees to hold a joint session on November 27 to discuss the draft laws, which echo demands of protesters who blame the country’s elite for rampant corruption and steering Lebanon deep into economic crisis. The protests prompted Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri to resign on October 29, leaving Lebanon at a political standstill as it looks to form a new gov-ernment needed to enact urgent

economic reforms. A Lebanese prosecutor

referred the caretaker minister and two former telecoms ministers for trial on Wednesday on charges of wasting public funds, among the first proceedings opened against high-level officials since the unrest erupted on October 17.

The parliament session this week was slated to reelect members of committees and discuss an amnesty law that would lead to the release of hun-dreds of prisoners. Protesters were angry the MPs were not tackling their demands for reform.

AP/BEIRUT

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says a soldier who shot and killed a protester in Beirut last week has been charged by a military prosecutor with murder.

The agency says that a colonel who was on the scene with the soldier at the time of the shooting was also charged yesterday. On November 12, Alaa Abu Fakhr was shot dead by the soldier, who was trying to open a road closed by protesters in southern Beirut, marking the first death since widespread protests against Lebanon’s ruling elite began October 17. The soldier, who has been under detention since the day of the shooting, and the colonel were referred to a military investigative judge who will start questioning them on Monday, according to NNA.

Soldier who killed protester charged with murder

Verdict against 12 former staff of oppn newspaper upheld

REUTERS/ ISTANBUL

A Turkish court yesterday upheld its conviction of 12 former employees of the oppo-sition Cumhuriyet newspaper despite a higher court ruling, a lawyer for the newspaper said.

The court acquitted a 13th defendant, journalist Kadri Gursel, due to a ruling by the Constitutional Court, Turkey’s highest, said the lawyer, Tora Pekin.

Ex-Nigeria minister held over oil graftAFP/LAGOS

Nigeria’s former justice minister has been detained in Dubai in connection with one of the West African country’s biggest ever corruption scandals, his lawyer said. Mohammed Adoke, who also held the post of attorney general, was “abruptly arrested by Interpol” on November 11 after going to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment, lawyer Mike Ozekhome said. A Nigerian court in April ordered arrest warrants for Adoke and former petroleum minister Dan Etete, over the corruption scandal centred on a $1.3bn oil deal involving international giants Eni and Shell.

Ethiopian Airlines passenger held after bomb claimAP/ADDIS ABABA

An Ethiopian Airlines flight in Burundi was disrupted when a man locked himself in a bathroom on the plane and claimed to have a bomb, a passenger and authorities said.Sally Hayden in a Twitter post cited local police as saying they eventually broke down the door and arrested the man in the incident. Security authorities in Burundi said passengers on the flight from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, were evacuated and no threat was found. Their statement called the uniden-tified man a “suspected terrorist.”

Iran begins reconnecting Internet after shutdown over protestsREUTERS/DUBAI

Iran yesterday began restoring Internet access in the capital Tehran and a number of provinces, local news agencies and residents said, after a days-long nationwide shutdown meant to help stifle unrest over fuel price hikes.

The Revolutionary Guards said calm had returned across Iran, state TV reported, after protests in which Amnesty International said over 100 demonstrators had been killed by security forces, a figure rejected as “speculative” by the government.

“The Internet is being gradually restored in the country,” the semi-official news agency Fars said, quoting unidentified informed sources. Fars quoted the sources as saying the National Security Council that had ordered the shutdown approved reactivating the Internet in “some areas and, according to reports so far, fixed line Internet has been restored in Hormozgan, Kermanshah, Arak, Mashhad, Qom, Tabriz, Hamadan and Bushehr provinces, and parts of Tehran”.

“We again have Internet as of an hour ago,” a retired engineer, who declined to be named, said by telephone from Tehran.

The Internet blockage made it difficult for protesters to post videos on social media to generate support and also to obtain reliable reports on the extent of the unrest. Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said the restoration of connectivity in Iran was only partial so far, covering about 10% of the country.

Local news agencies and residents said only fixed line Internet, not mobile Internet, was partially restored after the five-day shutdown. The unrest erupted on Nov. 15 after the government announced gasoline price hikes of at least 50%. Protests began in several provincial towns before spreading to some 100 cities and towns across the Islamic Republic. They quickly turned political with protesters demanding top officials to step down.

Netanyahu’s rival: PM has ‘no moral mandate’AP/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political rival says the indicted prime minister has “no public or moral mandate to make fateful decisions for the state of Israel.”

Former army chief Benny Gantz said in a statement the indictment raises concerns that Netanyahu “will make decisions in his own personal interest and for his political survival and not in the national interest.” Netanyahu and Gantz were virtually tied after September’s elections and each failed to assemble a majority coalition in parliament. The country now appears headed into an unprec-edented third round of elections in less than a year, in part because of Netan-yahu’s legal woes.

REUTERS/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted on corruption charges yesterday, heightening uncer-tainty over who will ultimately lead a country deep in political disarray after two inconclusive elections this year.

The decision announced by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was the first of its kind against a serving Israeli prime minister and represented Netanyahu’s gravest crisis of his lengthy political career.

He was charged with breach of trust and fraud in all three corruption cases against him, as well as bribery in one of the investigations, according to a charge sheet released by the Justice Ministry.

Netanyahu, in power since 2009, has dominated Israeli politics for a gener-ation and is the country’s longest-serving leader. He has denied wrongdoing in the three corruption cases, saying he is the victim of a political witch hunt.

He is under no legal obligation to

resign after being charged. The opening of a trial could be delayed for months by a new election and any moves by the right-wing prime minister to seek par-l iamentary immunity from prosecution.

Earlier, during one of the most unusual days in Israeli political history, the country’s president told lawmakers to name a candidate to form a new gov-ernment after right-winger Netanyahu and centrist challenger Benny Gantz both failed, a development that probably sets the stage for a third election within a

year. “These are harsh dark days in the annals of the State of Israel,” President Reuven Rivlin said as he announced that Gantz had not mustered enough support for a stable coalition.

Police recommended in February that Mandelblit file criminal charges against Netanyahu in the long-running investigations dubbed Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000.

Netanyahu is suspected of wrong-fully accepting $264,000 worth of gifts, which prosecutors said included cigars and champagne, from tycoons and of dispensing favours in alleged bids for improved coverage by Israel’s biggest selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, and the Walla website. Netanyahu could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bribery and a maximum 3-year term for fraud and breach of trust.

Even though he was under sus-picion, that was not enough to dissuade most of his traditional allies from sticking with him in coalition negotiations, effec-tively blocking Gantz’s path to the pre-miership. But the two elections that neither Netanyahu nor Gantz won exposed a rare political vulnerability in the prime minister after a decade in office.

The prolonged political stalemate comes at a tricky time for Israel and its most prominent statesman on the domestic and international fronts.

Its conflict with arch-foe Iran has deepened - Israeli warplanes hit Iranian targets in Syria on Wednesday after rockets were fired toward Israel - while fighting with Palestinian militants in Gaza flared last week.

The decision announced by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was the first of its kind against a serving Israeli prime minister and represented Netanyahu’s gravest crisis of his lengthy political career.

05FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 ISLAM

Prophet: The master of toleranceRAYA SHOKATFARD

God has always chosen prophets with the best of characters, morals and spirits. Since God is All-Knowing, All-Wise, and

has ordained human’s destiny before their birth, it is feasible to think that He has already chosen His Prophets before even their entrance to the world.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not an exception. God bestowed on him the best of characters, one of which was his exceptional tol-erance which is manifested in his life and teachings: And verily, you (O Muhammad) are on an exalted (standard of) character. (Al Qalam 68: 4)

We will examine some examples of his tolerance at the advent of Islam and during its expansion process. In the next article, we will examine his treatment of non-Muslims.

In MakkahDuring the first thirteen years of his

life in Makkah, he and his followers faced much persecution. Muslims were not ordered by God to fight back due to the fact that they had no military strength yet due to the small following which gradually increased. It was only in Madinah when his following and mil-itary power rapidly grew that fighting to protect themselves and the new religion was allowed.

When the Prophet’s opponents greatly increased their persecution, his com-panions asked him to curse them. At this the Prophet (PBUH) replied:“I have not been sent to lay a curse upon men but to be a blessing to them.” (Muslim)

His opponents continued to treat him and his companions unjustly and cruelly, but he always prayed for them.

He once decided to personally visit the village of Ta’if, to the east of Makkah, to invite its inhabitants to Islam. The people rejected him, stoned him, ejected him, and made him to bleed. Angel Gabriel came to him and said:

“Allah has heard what your people say to you and how they reject you. He has ordered the angels of the mountains to obey whatever you tell them to do.” The angel of the mountains called him, greeted him and said, “Send me to do what you wish. If you wish, I will crush them between the two mountains of Makkah.”

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins those who will worship Allah alone and not associate anything with Him.” (Al Bukhari)

In the early Makkan period when the enemies of the new religion far exceeded the Prophet’s companions in number, it often happened that when the Prophet (PBUH) would stand to pray, his foes would come near him and whistle and clap in order to disturb him, but the Prophet (PBUH) would not even once show his anger at such acts. He always opted for the policy of tolerance and avoidance of confrontation. In one instance when the Prophet (PBUH) was praying at the Ka’bah while his enemies were watching his every move and action, one of his adversaries put on his back the intestine of a slaughtered camel during his prostration. The Prophet (PBUH) did

not react and stayed in that position. His daughter, Fatimah, rushed to take the filth off his back and cleaned him up.

In MadinahLater, when Prophet Muhammad

(PBUH) and many of his companions migrated to Madinah, again his great character in dealing with his com-panions and enemies was further man-ifested. In Madinah, the Muslims were in the process of establishing the new Islamic state. Yet, their enemies in Makkah did not spare much time to wage war against them and pursue them even in Madinah.

In the battle of Uhud, when his Makkan enemies attacked the Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) suffered head injury and his front teeth got smashed. When the blood started to seep from his head, he swabbed it saying: “If a drop of my blood fell on the earth, those infidels will be destroyed by Allah.” Umar told him, O Messenger of Allah, Curse them! The prophet (PBUH) replied: “I wasn’t sent (by Allah) to curse. I was sent as a mercy.” Then he said: “O Allah, Guide my people!” (Authenticated by Al-Albani)

God confirms his blessed character by saying: {And We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind.} (Al-Anbiya’ 21:107)

The Prophet (PBUH) once said: “A true believer is one with whom others feel secure.” (Al Bukhari)

He manifested these words with

action and was not fast to revenge or rebuke a wrong doer.

A Bedouin once entered the mosque and started to urinate in it. Mosques at that time had no walls and carpeted floors and the ceilings were palm leaves held up by palm stems. The people ran to (prevent and restrain) him. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Do not interrupt his urination (i.e. let him finish). Then the Prophet (PBUH) asked for a pitcher of water to be poured over the place of urine. (Al Bukhari)

One of Jesus’ famous saying is: “Love your neighbour like yourself.” Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) complimented this by saying: “By God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a believer, with whom his neighbors are not secure.” (Al Bukhari)

This includes tolerance for actions they may do that is not pleasing to one. It is reported that one of the Prophet’s neighbors was a Jew who hated the Prophet. Each day he would throw trash on his way. The prophet (PBUH) never rebuked him. One day, the Jew did not show up. The Prophet (PBUH) asked about him, and was told that he was sick. So, he went to visit him and inquire about his health with kindness. Upon seeing this, the Jew embraced Islam.

The enmity of his worst enemy toward his most beloved was also met with awesome goodness. Hamza was among the Prophet’s most beloved uncles. During one of the battles, Hend, the wife of Abu Sufyan, the arch enemy

of the Prophet, had ordered her slave to find Hamza and pierce him with his arrow. Upon seeing him dead, she rushed to his body and cut out his liver and started chewing on it while filled with rage. Upon the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (PBUH) did not seek revenge on her and accepted her and her husband as new converts and gave them full protection.

Anas ibn Malik, who served the Prophet (PBUH) for ten years, said that the Prophet (PBUH) never rebuked him:

“When I did something, he never questioned my manner of doing it; and when I did not do something, he never questioned my failure to do it. He was the most good-natured of all men.” ( Bukhari)

Such manners of tolerance gained him the respect even of his enemies, and his followers stood by him through all kinds of hardship and misfortune.

Although his worse enemies were the Makkan Arabs at the beginning, but in Madinah, the Jews did not spare any effort to conspire against him, even after treaties were signed with them. However, he tried to be as fair with them as possible and only waged war against them when they broke treaties which caused much loss of life of Muslims.

Once, when the Prophet (PBUH) was sitting at a place in Madinah, along with his companions, a funeral procession passed by. On seeing this, the Prophet (PBUH) stood up. One of his companions remarked that the funeral was that of a Jew. The Prophet (PBUH) replied: “Was he not a human being?” (Muslim)

Since Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wished to avoid war at all costs, he strove to bring about a peace agreement between him and the Makkans. After great efforts on his part, the non-Muslims agreed to a ten-year peace treaty, which was drafted and signed at Al Hudaybiyyah, a place outside Makkah. During this important meeting, the Makkans insisted on a number of extremely provocative acts. For instance, the agreement men-tioned the Prophet’s name as “Muhammad the Messenger of Allah.” They insisted to replace by “son of Abdullah.” The Prophet (PBUH) accepted peacefully and deleted the appellation.

Similarly, they made the condition that if they could lay their hands on any Muslim they would make him a hostage, but if the Muslims succeeded in detaining any non-Muslim, they would have to set him free. The Prophet (PBUH) even relented on this point for establishment of peace in the region. He was clearly setting examples of fairness and tolerance while exposed to injustice and intolerance.

Despite all the concessions Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made with the Makkans, the later violated the same treaty they signed earlier. It was then that the Prophet (PBUH) finally marched with his huge army to Makkah and without any resistance conquered the city which was once the abode of his worse enemies. As mentioned earlier, the Prophet (PBUH) and his followers suffered a great deal during their thirteen years of living in Makkah and after their migration to Madinah. His own tribesmen and even family members continue to oppose him in not only in Makkah but rose to fight him in

Madinah for over 20 years.They did not spare any effort to

inflict the worse humanly possible hardship on them. In Makkah, it included, torture, sanctions, taking their lives’ belonging, separating family members and slaughtering them where ever they could find them. With God’s help and his and his companions’ stead-fastness in Madinah and upholding the message of Islam, they finally conquered Makkah. Its leaders came to him fearing that he would kill them as all conquerors do. But instead, he said: “Go! You are all free!” (Authenticated by Al Albani)

Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) mercy and tolerance did not exclude his worse enemies. Such tolerance awed his enemies who were now the newly con-verted Muslims. The end result is a clear history that is registered to this day. Message of Islam spread across the world, to include on fifth of the global population. These are only a few among many examples of the Prophet’s tol-erance and noble character. Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH) was asked regarding the character of the Prophet (PBUH). She said very simply, that: “The character of the Prophet (PBUH) was the Quran.” (Muslim)

Clearly, the Prophet (PBUH) molded his own life in accordance with the ideal pattern of life that he presented to others in the form of the Quran revealed to him by God. He never beat a servant, or a woman, or anyone else. He did, of course, fight for what was right. When he had to choose between two alterna-tives, he would take the easier course, provided it involved no sin. No one was more careful to avoid sin than he. He never sought revenge on his own sake for any wrong done to him personally. He was tolerant. Only if God’s com-mandments had been broken would he meet out retribution for the sake of God. It was such conduct which gained the Prophet (PBUH) universal respect.

One may say, since he was the last Prophet (PBUH) and messenger to mankind, no other can ever be quite like him. This is true because none shall ever have to shoulder a fraction of the responsibilities he had to bear. However, we, as his followers, have the easy part which is to seek and adopt his gentle qualities and high moral standards into daily practice; for the Prophet’s life was divinely chosen to function as a prac-tical manual of how one should better himself. Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) character and qualities are not only for the Muslims to follow, but the sincere seekers who learn about him, praise his noble character and wish to follow it.

Goethe, a famous German writer, artist, and politician of the 1800s, mar-velled over the achievements and status of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saying: “We Europeans with all our concepts and ideas have not yet attained that which Muhammad attained, and no one will ever surpass him. I searched in history for the loftiest example for man to follow, and I found it in the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Thus the truth must prevail and become supreme, because Muhammad (PBUH) succeeded in subjugating the whole world by means of the message of Divine Oneness.” www.onislam.net

Some lessons from Prophet Muhammad about givingCLAUDIA SEISE

Allah tells us in the Holy Quran that His last and final Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),

is our role model and the best example. We should try to emulate him as best as we can. We can find guidance and teachings for basically every matter of our lives in the words and actions of our beloved Prophet (PBUH). He was the best human being that Allah has created and nobody has excelled and will excel his manners and beautiful behaviour. He gave to people even though he himself did not have anything. His family was left with nothing after he returned to Allah because he gave away everything before his blessed life in this world was about to end. What can we learn from him?

It’s a Sign of GratitudeOur beloved Prophet Muhammad

(PBUH) gave to people in charity when he was healthy and alive. He said that one dirham (silvercoin) of charity given when one is healthy counts more and is better in the sight of Allah than one hundred dirham given in charity for a dead person.

That is why we should give when we are healthy. Many people start giving abundant charity once they are ill and in bad health or about to die. However, our Prophet (PBUH) taught us that it is better to give when we are healthy and alive. Giving in good times is a sign of our gratitude towards our Creator. We show that we are thankful for whatever He has given us.

Give, Even If It Is LittleThe Prophet (PBUH) gave when he

had something to give and he even gave in charity when he did not have anything to give. Once a man came to the Prophet and asked him for charity. The Prophet did not have anything to give him, but the man kept insisting on being given charity. The Prophet then told the man to go to a shop and buy whatever he needs and tell the shop owner that the debt is upon the Prophet. See how amazing the Prophet was! He did not think about his own debt or about filling his own stomach but he thought of a way how he could help this man who asked charity from him. What can we learn from that incident? Even if

we have little, we should try to give. Don’t wait for better times to come. If we are alive and healthy, it is the best time to give in charity.

How Should We Give?There are different sayings from the

Prophet Muhammad (may Allah shower blessings on him) that tell us that whenever somebody comes to us and asks charity of us, we should give him. We should try to give that person some-thing, even if it is something that seems of little value. And it is extremely important that we give our charity in the best of manners. Actually, we should try to understand that Allah has sent that person to us. And we need to understand that the person who asks charity from us has a right to some of our wealth. However, it is not only the person who asks charity from us who has a right over some of our wealth but also the person who does not ask us (Quran 51:19 and 70:25). The latter we have to go and look and search for. We have to give to both of them in the most beautiful way and without shaming them or

looking down upon them.

Giving To Those Close To YouWhen giving charity, many of us

forget the people close to us. However, our needy family members, neighbours, friends or colleagues are those who should be given priority. Our Prophet (PBUH) said that when we give to the poor, we give charity only but when we give to our family members we give charity and we also keep family ties. To keep family ties is extremely important in Islam. We should be kind and friendly to our close and far relatives. For example, if our uncle needs help to pay for his children’s school and food, we should give to him first because he belongs to our family. If our parents need financial assistance, then we should try and relieve their burden first before sending money to an NGO.

Giving Makes Us Feel GoodGiving charity because we want to

help other people, because we want to relieve a small part of their heavy burden or because we want to give them some happiness in difficult times is

immensely rewarding. We do it for those who receive our charity as much as we do it for ourselves. Giving makes us feel good. So, whenever we feel a bit down or even depressed, we should try to make someone else happy. This will surely cheer us up, inshaAllah.

Charity Keeps Calamities AwayGiving charity also keeps calamities

away from us. Maybe because a person is regular in giving charity, Allah will keep thieves away from his house or will keep him in good health. Maybe because another person regularly feeds poor people, Allah will keep away discord from his family. Giving to people who have less than us will never diminish our wealth and our provision. On the con-trary, it will only bring good and blessings in our life and the life of our family. So, let’s try to give more! Many times our beloved Prophet (PBUH) mentioned the virtue of giving charity in connection with being freed from the fire of hell and the pun-ishment from Allah for our sins. Giving charity can wipe away our bad deeds and can protect us from a bad death. May Allah guide us all. www.islamicity.org

Goethe, a famous German writer, artist, and politician of the 1800s, marvelled over the achievements and status of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saying: “We Europeans with all our concepts and ideas have not yet attained that which Muhammad (PBUH) attained, and no one will ever surpass him.

06 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019ASIA

LS members demand national plan to deal with air pollutionIANS NEW DELHI

Cutting across the party line, lawmakers yesterday demanded in the Lok Sabha for a “national action plan” to deal with air pollution while emphasising that farmers should not be blamed for the deteriorating air quality in Delhi as they are also the victims of climate change.

Participating in over two-hour long discussion on ‘air pol-lution and climate change’ which resumed again in the House yes-terday after one day gap from its initiation on Tuesday, some sought for the integration of Air (Prevention and Control of Pol-lution) Act, 1981.

They unanimously said that vehicles, dust, construction and industries, power plants too are responsible for poor air quality and it was wrong to blame farmers of the neighbouring states of Delhi for the current sit-uation of polluted air, demanding to conduct a com-bined efforts by all ministries like environment, health and transport.

The MPs accepted that stubble burning is one of the reasons of air pollution in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) but said that shifting whole blame on small and poor farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh was bad.

On the toxic air quality of Delhi, Congress’ Shashi Tharoor said there is a need for a national

action plan to deal with the issue.“Except this debate, so far,

nothing has been given for the due recognition to the issue which it deserves. After and before Diwali the debate on the issue peaks up. But, it is a national issue, a perennial issue. It’s a perennial problem we must solve together I would urge to work so that we can give our children a decent air to breath.”

BJP leader and MP Meen-akshi Lekhi, said this is a global issue and criticised Delhi Chief Minister for investing money on advertisement, saying it is not “worth it”. “The worth it effort should be how do we deal with CNG waste in Delhi because you find 2.5ppm in the air and that is the dust we need to control.”

“The Aravali jungles has been cut and we need to work on that strategy. So far as water pollution is concerned, heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium and chromium has come up because you (Delhi government)

did not provide good water to the people.

Speaking on the issue, BJP’s Satya Pal Singh said the air pol-lution is a problem caused by modernisation, and noted as everyone is responsible for pol-luting air through different ways, it is the responsibility of eve-ryone to keep it claim.

Referring to old ways men-tioned in Indian culture, Singh requested government to keep focus on “yagya” along with plantation of trees.

Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel said that “we should work in the direction to bring down particulate matter 2.5 and 10.” “The pollution level in Delhi, NCR has been deteriorated in the last few years and farmers are being blamed for it as they are involved in stubble burning. Such acts are against the farmers. It is incorrect to blame only farmers for the air pollution.”

Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule said also rejected blame on farmers that air pollution increased only because of stubble burning and factories. “In my area there is no stubble burning, no fac-tories but the air pollution are very severe there too.”

The air act has to be inte-grated which a lot of countries like Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and the Philippines are doing much better to deal with pol-lution. In Maharashtra elections we and Congress had a point in our manifesto for climate change.”

Venting their ire against Ayodhya verdictMuslims and members of Tamil ethnic group stage a demonstration against the Supreme Court verdict in Ayodhya dispute, in Chennai, yesterday.

A-G pitches for 3-year tenure for CJIIANS NEW DELHI

The government’s top law officer yesterday recommended a fixed tenure of three years for the Chief Justice of India.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, in his address at the felicitation function of the new Chief Justice SA Bobde, said: “There must be a fixed term of minimum three years for the Chief Justice of India, which will allow them the time to bring substantial changes.”

“Today the tenure is set against their retirement... By the time they (the Chief Justice) decide to do something, they retire and also many are left with

very little tenure to plan for some crucial reforms or changes... as they plan, the retirement day is there.”

The AG also insisted that the retirement age of judges must be raised. “Age difference between Supreme Court Judge and High Court Judge is 65 & 62. Judges retirement age should be around 70 years,” he suggested.

In a response to Venugopal’s comments, the Chief Justice said the top law officer should tell all this to the government. “You should tell this to your client... we are ready to work,” he said.

The Chief Justice batted for introducing artificial intelligence in the court management

system, as it would streamline many cumbersome processes in the judicial system. He said the world is adapting these technol-ogies, and therefore we should do the same.

He also emphasised on the mental health of the judges, saying that the focus should not just be on physical health but this too. The Chief Justice insisted that it is essential to remove the stigma attached to the mental health, and efforts should be made to provide professional help, adding that these reforms will help both judges and lawyers.

Chief Justice Bobde also stressed access to affordable legal aid, saying it is a concern for the people.

Delhi court lets ED to question Chidambaram in Tihar jailIANS NEW DELHI

A Special CBI Court yesterday allowed Enforcement Directorate (ED) to interrogate former Finance Minister P Chidambaram for two days in connection with the money laundering case in INX Media deal.

Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar allowed the agency to confront Chidambaram from November 22 during office hours.

ED’s legal team led by Standing Counsel Amit Mahajan and Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Naveen Kumar Matta moved the court seeking per-mission to interrogate the former finance minister.

During the course of hearing, the judge asked, “What is left to be interrogated?” “We need to confront him with some documents,” the ED replied.

Judge further questioned, “How do you record statement under 50 when he is already arrested?” Statements are recorded under section 50 PMLA as untill a complaint is filed, he is just an arrestee and not an accused, the ED said.

Following which the judge allowed the application but refused to grant permission to the agency for recording a statement under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laun-dering Act, 2002.

Uproar in Lok Sabha over electoral bondsIANS NEW DELHI

Calling electoral bonds a “big scam”, the Congress along with some opposition parties yesterday alleged during Lok Sabha proceedings that there is “lack of transparency” in the scheme, and staged a walkout on the issue.

The matter was raised by the Congress soon after the House assembled for the day with its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announcing that his party has moved an adjournment motion over the issue.

Chowdhury accused the Centre over electoral bonds issue, saying “the country is being looted through the scheme. It is a very big scam. The issue is serious and we have given an adjournment notice.” Referring to treasury benches, he said they had not allowed the House to function when they were in oppo-sition and had made allegations against the UPA government over coal block allocations.

The Congress members pro-tested on the issue during Question Hour and trooped near the Speaker’s podium.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla intervened and asked the pro-testing members to go to their seats and raise the issue during Zero Hour, reiterating “Question Hour is important as all members want to raise their issues.” Birla also warned that “no member should speak to the Chair from the well of the House”.

“I am a new member of the House and want to maintain its dignity. I will give you oppor-tunity after Question Hour,” he told Congress members.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also asked the

Congress leaders to allow the functioning of the House and raise their issues during Zero Hour.

Congress MP Manish Tewari raised the issue in Zero Hour and mentioned about the adjournment motion over elec-toral bonds issue.

“Since February 1, 2017 when this government moved a pro-posal to issue unknown electoral bonds during common budget, it was an attempt to cover up corruption. When the scheme was implemented, it was limited only to the Lok Sabha elections,” Tewari said.

As Tewari was not allowed to speak by the Speaker when he tried to raise questions over the Prime Minister’s Office men-tioning any incident before Kar-nataka elections, the Congress members walked out of the House raising slogans against the government.

Congress Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had on Wednesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre over the electoral bonds scheme during a press con-ference, calling the scheme a “conspiracy”.

Strike in solidarity with JNU studentsSecurity personnel detain students during a demonstration in support of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students for their ongoing protest, in New Delhi yesterday.

Kashmir returning to normalcy, govt tells SCIANS NEW DELHI

A day after Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the Parliament on Kashmir, the Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, gave the Supreme Court a detailed account of “normalcy” returning to Jammu and Kashmir, espe-cially in the Valley.

The Solicitor General, in a counter to petitions challenging the restrictions imposed on Kashmir after revocation of Article 370, said these petitions have outlived their relevance as the erstwhile state is returning to normalcy.

“The region is under diktats is a serious allegation levelled by petitioners... post August 5, rights have been conferred on citizens and not taken away,” he said. He insisted the narrative suggesting the entire seven million population is under the shadow of doubt, in the backdrop of these restrictions, is a false notion pedalled by a minority.

Elaborating on the nature of terrorism, Mehta, supporting the restrictions imposed on the

access to Internet in the region, said: “We are victim of cross border terrorism, who infiltrate digitally and not only physically.”

Mehta presented the latest data, on the situation of Kashmir as on November 18, before a bench headed by Justice NV Ramana. “Orders under section 144 CrPC have been removed from all 195 police stations. There has been a decrease in incidents of stone pelting, 190 incidents reported after August 5 as compared to 802 in 2018. And, all 20,411 schools are open. Nearly 99 per cent students appeared in senior secondary examination,” he told the court.

The Solicitor General added all hospitals and medical centres are open in the Valley. Large volumes of fuel have been con-sumed which indicate vehicular movement in the region. “The government purchased apples through NAFED at a cost of Rs 38 crore. Out of 59,76,359 mobile phones, 20,05,293 post-paid mobile phones (voice) are functioning. But, restrictions continue on pre-paid, as iden-tities can be forged to get a con-nection,” he added.

Assam Congress opposes fresh citizenship registerIANS GUWAHATI

Opposition Congress in Assam slammed the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update process will be carried out afresh in the state concurrently

with the rest of India and termed it as part of its agenda to polarise the society on religious lines.

“Not even three months have elapsed since the final updated NRC was published in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court and, significantly, the Apex Court has accepted the

validity of the final NRC. Therefore, Amit Shah’s announcement about a fresh NRC update in Assam indicates that the Modi government is unwilling to accept the decision of the apex Court,” said Leader of Opposition in Assam legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Wednesday.

He said that the NRC was updated in Assam by engaging over 50,000 employees of the state gov-ernment and spending over Rs1200 crore of tax-payers’ money. Around 3.29 crore inhabitants of Assam went through a great deal of trouble to collect documentation and par-ticipate in the process, he said.

Participating in over two-hour long discussion on ‘air pollution and climate change’, some Lok Sabha members sought for the integration of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

07FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 ASIA

Daily hearing of PTI’s foreign funding case orderedINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered day-to-day hearing of the foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

The order came after the opposition’s Rehbar Committee submitted an application, asking the ECP to decide the case before the expiry of the chief election commissioner’s term next month.

In the application submitted to ECP Secretary Babar Yaqub Fateh Mohammad, the repre-sentatives of eight opposition parties urged the commission to hear the case on a daily basis.

The application pointed out that the foreign funding case against the PTI had been pending with the ECP for the past five

years. “We urge that in the interest of justice the case may be heard on a daily basis and decided at the earliest during the term of the Commission (CEC),” it stated.

Prior to submission of the application, the Rehbar Com-mittee held an informal meeting at the Parliament House after which they staged a protest outside the ECP.

When contacted, the ECP secretary confirmed that an application from the opposition had been received and the com-mission had issued directives for

day-to-day hearing of the case.Another ECP official said the

directives had been issued by the CEC and ECP member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the ECP member from Punjab was not present. He said the foreign funding case against the PTI was fixed for hearing before the scrutiny committee on November 26.

He disclosed that notices had also been issued to the counsel for the PML-N and PPP, asking them to appear before the com-mittee the same date [Nov 26].

Foreign funding cases against the PML-N and PPP had been filed by PTI lawmakers.

The ECP official said the notices to the PML-N and PPP lawyers had been issued around a week ago.

In a related development, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurengzeb threw a challenge on Prime Minister Imran Khan to appear before the ECP in person in the foreign funding case if there was nothing to hide, instead of employing delaying tactics.

She also sought an expla-nation from him over 23 ‘illegal accounts’ and asked him to make public through a tweet as to how much taxes he, his present and ex-wives and children had paid and how much assets they owned.

She claimed that Imran Khan

had paid just Rs4.7m in taxes over the last 36 years. She said Khan had paid just Rs103,763 in taxes in 2017. She wondered why he had not declared foreign bank accounts in the name of his ex-spouses and children.

PTI’s founding member Akbar S. Babar had filed the case in 2014, alleging that nearly $3 million in illegal foreign funds were col-lected through two offshore com-panies and that money was sent through illegal ‘hundi’ channels from the Middle East to the accounts of ‘PTI employees’.

He had also alleged that the foreign accounts used to collect funds were concealed from the annual audit reports submitted to the ECP.

A scrutiny committee was formed in March last year to complete an audit of PTI’s

funding sources in one month. Its mandate was later extended for an indefinite period.

On October 10, the ECP had rejected four applications filed by the PTI seeking secrecy during the scrutiny of its foreign funding sources.

The ECP had in its order raised a serious objection to Assistant Attorney General Saqlain Haider representing the PTI as its lead lawyer, observing that his job was to represent the state, and not a political party. The ECP had in its order termed the case being the worst his-torical example of abuse of the process of law.

PTI lawyers had walked out of a meeting of the scrutiny com-mittee on October 23, citing the objection in the Oct 10 order as the reason.

Sri Lanka’s new President swears in his brother as PMREUTERS COLOMBO

Sri Lanka’s newly-elected Pres-ident Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday swore in his elder brother, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, as prime minister, cementing the powerful family’s political comeback.

The appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa, 74, came hours after the former premier Ranil Wick-remesinghe tendered his resig-nation following the defeat of his party’s candidate in a presidential election to Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the weekend.

It is the first time in Sri Lankan history that two siblings have held the two top political positions, although Mahinda is only in charge of a caretaker gov-ernment until parliamentary elections next year.

In a ceremony in the capital Colombo yesterday, Gotabaya swore in his brother as their respective wives, sons and daughters-in-law looked on.

“I wish to congratulate and extend my warmest wishes to Hon Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister of the Democratic, Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,” Gotabaya tweeted afterwards.

Gotabaya, 70, had earlier served as defence chief under his brother Mahinda, who himself served as president from 2005-2015.

Mahinda, who had been Sri Lanka’s opposition leader since January, has held the prime min-ister’s post twice before.

He is set to be his party’s can-didate in a parliamentary election expected around April. The former president, popular with the Sin-halese majority for overseeing the end of a 26-year long civil war, is broadly seen as a shoo-in.

“The Rajapaksa brand, as evi-denced by the election, remains extremely strong,” said Akhil Bery, Eurasia’s South Asia analyst, adding that Mahinda is perceived to be even more popular than his younger brother.

The siblings face a tall order

to revive Sri Lanka’s economy, which is in its deepest slump in nearly two decades following Easter Sunday Islamist attacks that killed over 250 people in churches and hotels. That hurt the rupee and the all-important tourism sector.

Gotabaya, who oversaw the defeat of Tamil separatists as his brother’s defence chief a decade ago, won the election after

promising to secure the country against militant threats.

His economic manifesto targets average growth of at least 6.5 percent, compared with 3.2 percent in 2018, but economists are worried his plans may strain coffers. Managing a record $3bn in annual external debt repay-ments over the next five years will be another challenge.

Some investors see Rajapaksa

as an experienced hand who will bring political stability to the island. Sri Lanka’s stock index and rupee currency have gained 1.9 percent and 0.5 percent respectively since his election.

Rights groups and minorities, however, accuse the Rajapaksas of human rights violations during the war and have expressed con-cerns of renewed ethnic tensions following the elections.

Mahinda Rajapaksa takes oath as the new Prime Minister in front of his brother and Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo, yesterday.

Court drops corruption charges against GotabayaAFP COLOMBO

Corruption charges against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa were dropped yesterday by a court, which handed his passport back as he acquired immunity from prosecution after being elected last weekend.

Under Sri Lanka’s Consti-tution, no court proceedings can be maintained against a serving president. However, action could be taken after he leaves office.

The High Court had indicted Rajapaksa in September last year on charges of siphoning off SLR33 (around $185,000) in state funds to build a memorial for his parents.

The court also released his passport which had been impounded, allowing him to make his first overseas trip as president to India next week.

Rajapaksa was being tried before a special court estab-lished by the former gov-ernment to expedite high-profile corruption cases. Rajapaksa, 70, had pleaded not guilty.

Six others were also charged along with Rajapaksa and their fate will be decided when the case is taken up for a hearing on January 9, the court said.

Official sources said Rajapaksa was also entitled to claim foreign sovereign immunity in respect to two civil cases filed against him in California for allegedly causing the death of a senior newspaper editor and torture.

He has denied responsi-bility for the killing of anti-establishment editor Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2009 and torturing suspects when he headed the defence ministry.

Judges cannot play with the Constitution: Pakistan Chief JusticeINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa has said that judges cannot play ‘football’ with the Constitution.

The chief justice said that no one could be detained for more than three months without a trial. Later, the review board could extend the detention period but it could not be more than eight months.

He also hinted to examine

the review board’s reports for extending the detention of persons in internment centres.

CJ Khosa noted that the main issue was about the custody of persons who were confined without a trail. Referring to Article 14, the chief justice said that every citizen was entitled to getting all the constitutional rights.

The top judge observed that the internment centres issue would be examined on a step by step basis as firstly the court

would decide about its jurisdiction.

Chief Justice Khosa, who is heading the five-judge larger bench, was hearing the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments’ appeal against the Peshawar High Court’s order to annul the Action (in Aid of Civil Power) Ordinance, 2019.

During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan expressed ina-bility to argue the case due to illness.

The bench gave last oppor-tunity to the law officers to plead the case, otherwise, the law would take its own course.

The ordinance issued by the KP governor on August 5 gave a legal cover to several detention centres set up during the military operations in the erstwhile Fed-erally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

The ordinance also assigned wide-ranging powers to authorised officers and armed forces, besides giving an

interning authority to detain a suspect until the continuation of action in aid of civil power by the armed forces.

However, the PHC on Oct 18 declared it unconstitutional and in violation of all fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

It directed the KP gov-ernment to share the list of inmates with the police, while directing the provincial police chief to take over all ‘illegal’ internment centres.

Smog envelops LahoreCommuters drive their vehicles amid heavy smog conditions in Lahore, Pakistan, yesterday.

Nepal’s Premier reshuffles Cabinet

REUTERS/KATHMANDU

New ministers were inducted into Nepal’s government yesterday as part of a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is trying to strengthen his grip, improve ties with a powerful ally and minimise internal party conflict.

A government statement issued late on Wednesday said Oli dropped six cabinet min-isters and three junior ministers.

Oli’s critics said the political leader was adding loyalists to his government because political allies were questioning the 67-year-old leader’s authority. He has been in poor health since a kidney transplant in India in 2007. Although local media have reported that Oli may seek further treatment soon, his office has remained silent on the issue.

UK suspends prisoner swap pact with PakistanINTERNEWS ISLAMABAD

The UK government has suspended an agreement with Pakistan for exchange of convicted prisoners because of lenient application of law and punishment handed down to drug smugglers in Pakistan.

“On the other hand, China is reluctant and most likely will not enter into Transfer of Offenders Agreement (TOA) with Pakistan because of similar reasons,” the Director General of Overseas Paki-stanis Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shozab Abbas, told the National Assembly’s Subcom-mittee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

“The UK government does not want to continue the exchange of prisoners’ agreement with Pakistan. The reason for this is that the UK

government wants drug traf-fickers convicted in Britain and serving their sentences there, to continue serving their sentences in Pakistani jails after their transfer and their sentences should not be set aside by Pakistan. The British gov-ernment will consider restoring the agreement only if Pakistan government applies the same punishment handed down to convicts in the UK,” Shozab Abbas said.

He recalled a case from April 2018, when 17 Pakistani convicts were repatriated from Thailand.

“In an intelligent move, these drug smugglers convicted in Thailand, had sought reduction in their punishment by invoking the Pakistani law after being repatriated under the TOA. The Supreme Court ordered releasing eight of them,” Abbas told the committee.

The order came after the opposition’s Rehbar Committee submitted an application, asking the Election Commission of Pakistan to decide the case before the expiry of the chief election commissioner’s term next month.

These new immigrants faced discrimination in the United States. Many Americans of Northern and Western European ancestry regarded them as nonwhite, biologically and culturally inferior and unassimilable.

LEONID BERSHIDSKY BLOOMBERG

08 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019VIEWS

Why family separation is so central to Trump’s immigration vision

At Wednesday night’s Demo-cratic debate, Elizabeth Warren stated, “A great nation does not separate children from their

families.” It was a forceful rejoinder to many of the Trump administration’s immigration policies: separating over 5400 children from their families, sending families to Mexico to await the chance to make asylum claims and seeking the chance to detain children indefinitely. The administration has also supported reform efforts that would end so-called “chain” migration and de-pri-oritize family reunification.

When discussing immigration, candi-dates like Warren are likely to gain support when they speak in support of keeping fam-ilies together. Making family reunification the centerpiece of the legal immigration system strengthened the United States in the 20th century while increasing the migration of people of color and benefiting US citizens who were able to bring family members to join them. Keeping families apart is an effort to reduce immigration and whiten America - and history sug-gests that despite attempts by nativists to brand family reunification with the deri-sive, dehumanizing term “chain” migration, the public will remain steadfastly support-ive of keeping families together.

Around the turn of the 20th century, many families immigrated together to America. Between 1871 and the outbreak of World War I, 12.9 million immigrants

arrived in the United States from Asia and Europe in search of economic oppor-tunities, social mobility or safety. They joined mil-lions of migrants around the globe who, at the end of the 19th century, left their countries to escape stag-nant economies, political unrest or persecution to take advantage of the demand for unskilled labor in rapidly indus-trializing nations.

By 1920, the three largest groups of immigrants in the United States were Italians (four million), eastern European Jews (two million, mostly from the Rus-sian Empire) and Poles (one million). These numbers stood in stark contrast to the years preceding the mass migration of the turn of the 20th century. Until the 1880s, only 11,725 Italians and about 150,000 Jews, mostly of German descent, had entered the United States.

These new immigrants faced dis-crimination in the United States. Many Americans of Northern and Western Euro-pean ancestry regarded them as nonwhite, biologically and culturally inferior and unassimilable. Their calls for immigration restriction against Asian and European immigrants echoed a global push to restrict,

exclude, deport and segregate immigrants deemed “undesirable” - especially immi-grants of color.

As the debate raged, Italian and Jewish leaders skillfully put family ties at the fore-front of their efforts to staunch the nativist push. Starting in 1896, when Congress first considered administering a literacy test to incoming immigrants - a tactic to reduce immigration - Italian and Jewish reform advocates argued that many of the pro-posals under consideration in Congress would lead to family separation. For the moment, framing restriction as harm-ing families worked, and the bills failed to make their way into law. But just a few years later, as large-scale immigration of families continued, nativist opponents of immigration demanded policy change. Soon, immigration laws emerged as the ideal tool of social engineering and nation building. As Prescott Hall, one of the lead-ers of the Immigration Restriction League, put it in 1919, “immigration restriction is a species of segregation on a large scale, by which inferior stocks can be prevented from both diluting and supplanting good stocks.” Framing immigrants as “stocks” diluting white America originated from popular eugenicist beliefs that immigrants and their families posed a threat to the survival of American society through reproduction.

As pressure to close the gates mounted, Italian and Jewish reform advocates joined other groups to oppose restrictive immi-gration laws. They pushed to exempt family members from the quota system under discussion, and advocated for family reuni-fication. But their efforts collided with those of a powerful coalition of nativists in Con-gress who worked tirelessly to solidify a regime of restriction and strengthen their political influence.

When Congress passed the 1924 Immi-gration and Nationality Act, which imposed a near ban on immigration from Asia and restricted immigration from Europe through the national origins quota sys-tem, Rep. Albert Johnson, R-Wash., one of its sponsors, was clear about the motivation. He called it “America’s second declaration of Independence,” and argued that “the United States is our land . . . if it was not the land of our fathers, at least it may be, and it should be, the land of our children. We intend to maintain it so.

The day of unalloyed welcome to all peoples, the day of indiscriminate accept-ance of all races, has definitely ended.” Aiming to whiten the country - to ensure that American families remained white - meant legally restricting the immigration

of people deemed nonwhite.But over the course of the 20th cen-

tury, reformers sought to open the gates that had been shut so tightly. Gradually appeals to American family values emerged as the main tool to challenge restriction. Italian and Jewish reformers understood that, despite their differences, congres-sional leaders of both parties were willing to negotiate over family reunification as an exception to restriction because many of them regarded the family unit as the foundation for U.S. society.

Their efforts finally began to bear fruit in the 1950s. Although Italian and Jewish reform advocates were frustrated when the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act retained the national origins quota sys-tem from the 1920s, they welcomed the law’s new emphasis on family reunion.

Because of the Act’s emphasis on fam-ily reunification, education and economic potential, immigration increased in the late 1950s. Immigrants from outside of Europe took advantage of these new family provisions, despite the small annual quo-tas allocated to their countries. In turn, these trends paved the way for a more diverse society.

Under the law, just over 2 million immi-grants should have arrived between 1952 and 1965, but in fact 3.5 million people entered the country, only about a third of whom came under the annual immi-grant quotas allocated by the law. Many instead entered through the family reunion provisions. This trend expanded consid-erably after Congress, again embracing the centrality of family, passed the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which replaced the national origins quota system with a global ceiling on immigration and retained the emphasis on family reunion, skills and education.

Restrictionist legislators’ support for family reunion in 1952 and 1965 was no accident. Their decision to prioritize fam-ily reunion was rooted in their belief that emphasizing family would be the best way to preserve the existing racial status quo. They expected that, because the 1920s leg-islation prioritized Northern and Western Europeans, that they would be the perpetual beneficiaries of family-based migration.

But the rapid postwar recovery of West-ern European nations, greatly facilitated by the Marshall Plan, meant that citizens of these countries no longer sought to emi-grate in large numbers, while totalitarian governments in eastern and central Europe blocked aspiring migrants from leaving altogether. Meanwhile, the pressure to leave increased in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

MADDALENA MARINARI THE WASHINGTON POST

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We are not finished yet. The day is

not over and you never know what

testimony of one person may lead to the need for testimony of

another.

Nancy Pelosi US House Speaker

Google’s micro-targeting ban won’t improve political ads

Google says it will limit the targeting of political ads to make it harder to sneak

misinformation to impres-sionable voters. That puts the company ahead of the pack when it comes to making the political business of big internet platforms look less threatening. But the effi-ciency of political micro-tar-geting is questionable, and Google is responding to a moral panic rather than any real danger to democracy.

Since the 2016 U.S. presi-dential election, the public has become aware of techniques that allow advertisers to aim

their messages at narrow groups of people, sliced not just by place of residence, age and sex, but also by consumer and political preferences, browsing histo-ries, voting records and other kinds of personal data. This culminated in the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, when news reports showed that the U.K.-based micro-targeting firm had improperly harvested lots of private user data from Facebook. The platforms were on the spot to do something.

Twitter has banned political ads entirely, but then it didn’t sell many, anyway, serving instead as a free platform for political messages. In an op-ed in the Washington Post follow-ing Twitter’s announcement, Ellen Weintraub, chairwoman

of the U.S. Federal Election Commission, called for an end to political micro-target-ing instead of an ad ban. “It is easy to single out suscepti-ble groups and direct political misinformation to them with little accountability, because the public at large never sees the ad,” she argued.

That was a controversial proposal. Writing in the same newspaper, Chris Wilson, who had been responsible for dig-ital strategy in Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential cam-paign (which was the first in that election to hire Cam-bridge Analytica), countered that micro-targeting has helped increase voter turnout and drive down advertising costs for campaigns. His suggestion

was to make the targeting more transparent.

Google, however, found it more expedient to go along with Weintraub’s proposal than to fight an uphill battle using Wilson’s arguments. In a blog post on Wednesday, the com-pany said it would no longer let advertisers target messages “based on public voter records and general political affiliations (left-leaning, right-leaning, and independent).” Only basic tar-geting by age, gender and postal code would be allowed.

This, is course, is no more than Russian trolls would have required in 2016 - as Wilson pointed out in his Washington Post op-ed. Their propaganda campaign was largely geo-graphically targeted.

In the last decade, World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) has managed to bring together various stakeholders in the field of education – be it teachers, ministers, non-profit groups or private players – to find ways to improve dissemination of knowledge among students.

CHAIRMANSHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

editorinchief@pen.com.qa

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED SALIM MOHAMED

m.salim@pen.com.qa

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORMOHAMMED OSMAN ALI

osman@pen.com.qa

ESTABLISHED IN 1996

EDITORIAL

WISE: Igniting ideas

For last three days, Doha has been hosting top edu-cators and decision-makers from all over the world who were discussing and brainstorming ways to build

the future of education.In the last decade, World Innovation Summit for Edu-

cation (WISE) has managed to bring together various stake-holders in the field of education – be it teachers, ministers, non-profit groups or private players – to find ways to improve dissemination of knowledge among students.

Qatar Foundation, under the leadership of its Chair-person, H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, set up WISE in 2009 and over the years it has grown to become one of the most important international summits for education. There were over 3,000 participants from more than 110 countries at the opening session of the WISE 2019.

Over the years, Sheikha Moza has done a lot for global education through various programmes she launched and also by pushing international bodies to act on providing quality education to every kid in the world without any bias or discrimination, even in conflict zones. WISE is one such effort by Her Highness aimed at rethinking and reimag-

ining the conventional way of education to bring in innovation though collective effort of the best minds in the field.

Qatar has always led by example by constantly upgrading and bringing in pos-itively disruptive changes into education in the country. Qatar’s education sector has seen many innovative decisions – both in technology and content – over the years.

WISE summits always tend to push the delegates to think and rethink current practices and how to better transform the existing system in such a way that it will benefit current and future generations. To this extend, this year’s theme - ‘UnLearn ReLearn: What it means to be Human’ - aptly summarises the goal of the biannual summit.

The discussions at WISE 2019 addressed several questions including: Should schools teach students how to be happy? Will artificial intelligence make teachers obsolete? Can the latest discoveries in neu-roscience make our kids smarter? Do students care about what they are learning? Should schools get rid of grading systems? And Should students pledge a percentage of their future salary to fund their higher education?

All the answers might not be found from one summit, but the most important thing is questions are being asked and discussions started. Depending on the interest of the State and decision makers, some countries might move faster in finding new ways to teach and learn. Eventually it will percolate to other nations as well. Summits like WISE ignite the ideas and thoughts and rest will surely follow.

Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks as former Vice-President, Joe Biden, listens during the Democratic Presidential Debate at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

When the Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago, it was a triumph of open society and freedom of movement. But when two years later the Soviet Union collapsed, precipitated by this cathartic event, thousands of kilometres of new borders emerged, often where they had never existed, dividing families and friends in newly created ethnic nation states.

09FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 OPINION

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The race to succeed Merkel could bring suprises

Berlin Wall fell in 1989, but a new one was put up in 1991

ANDREAS KLUTH WASHINGTON POST

LEONID RAGOZIN AL JAZEERA

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is officially a lame duck, and either in 2020 or 2021 somebody else will get

her job. It’ll almost certainly be somebody from her conservative bloc, which remains the strongest in the polls. But who? Last December, this seemed an easy question to answer. Now the race has opened up again.

It will accelerate this week when - 14 years to the day since Merkel took office - delegates of her party, the Chris-tian Democratic Union, gather for their annual powwow. Four of five potential successors are Christian Democrats and will use the stage in Leipzig to audi-tion. Two weeks later, Merkel’s junior partners, the Social Democrats, will decide whether to quit the coalition early, thereby determining the timing of the next national election.

Merkel’s original plan was to groom a former regional premier, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, commonly abbre-viated to AKK. She seemed reassuringly similar. Both women are quietly, but profoundly, religious. Both are non-ide-ological centrists. Both are de-escalators by temperament and speak in compli-cated phrases that often mean nothing, but come across as soothing.

The grooming had to be accelerated last year, because the CDU got restless. Merkel gave up the party leadership so that Kramp-Karrenbauer could seize it, which she did, after a bruising contest. To Merkel’s chagrin, AKK then stumbled through a series of gaffes. Most were

blown out of proportion, but stuck. Dur-ing this year’s carnival celebrations, when Germans uncharacteristically revel in buffoonery, she dressed up as a clean-ing lady and waded into gender politics by wondering tongue-in-cheek whether men were still allowed to pee standing up. German society feigned collective outrage. She was damaged goods.

Then the job of defense minister unexpectedly opened, and Merkel gave it to AKK before a rival could pounce on the opportunity. But on the international stage Kramp-Karrenbauer, whose Eng-lish is clumsy, looked even more out of depth. And yet she embraced the role, courageously broaching taboos along the way. She suggested creating a Ger-man-led security zone in Syria, as well as providing more money to the army (which NATO has been demanding for years). On the whole, she’s come across as thoughtful and honest. That hasn’t helped her as a candidate. The Ger-man public and elite have concluded she can’t win.

One man who thinks he can is Frie-drich Merz. At 6 1/2 feet tall, he was an up-and-coming Christian Democrat in the 1990s until Merkel ousted him from a top job in 2002. He’s been plot-ting his revenge ever since. For years he did that outside of politics, working in finance for BlackRock Inc., among others. But last year Merz, now 64, came back, colluding with the CDU’s right wing to challenge Merkel and AKK for leader-ship of the party.

His unique advantage is that he has no political responsibility, so he can snipe from the sidelines. He’s not subtle about it. After the CDU lost a regional election, he lamented that Merkel and Kramp-Karrenbauer “smother this country like a blanket of fog.”

Many in the CDU project conserv-ative fantasies onto Merz, especially the party’s older, male contingent. But to the broader German electorate, he’s fallen out of the zeitgeist.

A candidate who could one day capture it is Jens Spahn. Like Merz, he’s positioned himself as a conserv-ative gadfly to the wobbly centrism of Merkel and Kramp-Karrenbauer. But because he’s 39 and openly gay, Spahn can appear simultaneously conserva-tive and woke.

Sensing the political threat, Merkel tried to eliminate Spahn by making him health minister, a boring job in which normal people fail. Surprisingly, how-ever, Spahn is blossoming. He’s launching one initiative after another.

This month he made measles vac-cination mandatory, no small feat in a culture of anti-vaxxers. But as Spahn and most Christian Democrats know, his time hasn’t come yet.

Then there’s Armin Laschet. His advantage is that he’s premier of the most populous state, North Rhine-West-phalia, and leader of the CDU’s biggest delegation. His strategy is to be bland and pleasant, to repeat platitudes on TV, and to wait for the other contest-ants to eliminate one another until the party begs him to make peace.

But that’s unlikely. German voters wouldn’t send somebody this wimpy to face off against the likes of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping or Emmanuel Macron.

So maybe none of the Christian Democrats has what it takes. That’s where a unique German twist comes into play. The CDU has a “sister party,” called the Christian Social Union (CSU). Their arrangement is that the CSU sticks to Bavaria and the CDU covers the other 15 states, but in parliament they form one group and in federal elections they field one “union” candidate. Since 1949 there have been exactly two CSU can-didates for chancellor, and both lost. A German rule of thumb is that nobody can become chancellor who is from south of the “white-sausage equator,” a culi-nary and cultural line that runs roughly along the Danube River.

When the Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago, it was a triumph of open society and

freedom of movement. But when two years later the Soviet Union col-lapsed, precipitated by this cathartic event, thousands of kilometres of new borders emerged, often where they had never existed, dividing fam-ilies and friends in newly created ethnic nation states.

The border between the eastern regions of Ukraine and southwestern Russia is one such example and a core issue that lies at the heart of all dilem-mas faced by those involved in the peace process in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.

Today, Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has taken up the challenging task of negotiating a resolution to the conflict with Russia after winning a popular mandate in the recent presidential elections.

After a few setbacks caused by Ukrainian far-right paramilitaries opposing his peace efforts, the dis-engagement of Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatist forces took place in key flashpoints on the front-line in Donbas region in recent weeks, opening a way for top-level talks with France and Germany as mediators.

If it materialises, the resulting peace agreement would answer fundamen-tal questions about Ukraine’s statehood

and the fate of millions caught up in the conflict.

Will Ukraine grant a broad auton-omy to the Donbas region, which in that case will likely continue to be ruled by Russian proxies? In such a new consti-tutional arrangement, will the proxies ruling the region be able to veto Ukraine’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, especially Nato, either in parliament, as an autonomous region in a de facto fed-eral state or simply through the threat of escalation?

Sensing war fatigue in Ukraine and Ukraine fatigue in the West, the Krem-lin’s foreign policy strategists will most likely push for both. Their latest success in Syria (and the inability of Western powers to prevent it) must have con-vinced them that with a bit of resolve, they can hope for a best-case scenario in Ukraine as well.

The official Ukrainian position, according to Ukrainian foreign min-ister, Vadym Prystaiko, is that the country will never cross two red lines. It will not become a federation (ie, will remain a unitary state) and it will not change its foreign policy orientation towards the West.

But the wording of this supposedly defiant statement is deliberately vague. The rebels can get their veto without Ukraine becoming a federation on paper. A vaguely pro-Western course can be retained without the country aspiring to join Nato - Finland did exactly that

during the Cold War years (and benefitted from it greatly).

A key factor for the success of the talks is whether Ukrain-ian society, ever so prone to ousting failed leaders in revolutions, will accept inevitable compromises with Moscow. The picture is murky.

On the one hand, there is a clear demand for ending the conflict, reflected in the sound defeat of the party of war led by the previous president, Petro Poroshenko, in last spring’s pres-idential election. On the other hand, polls demonstrate that a significant chunk of the population, around 30 percent, has an aversion to

specific models of realistic compromise, particularly to full-blown autonomy in Donbas. Opponents of compromise include many war veterans and Maidan revolution activists.

At the same time, even after five years of war fomented by Russia, the idea of a hard border with its aggressive neighbour is still a hard sell in Ukraine. Last month, a regular poll jointly con-ducted by Ukraine’s KMIS and Russia’s Levada Center showed that 49 percent of Ukrainians (down from around 70 percent before the war) still believe that the two countries should have open bor-ders with no customs and visas.

These attitudes have major impli-cations for Ukraine’s EU and Nato aspirations, which both presume a hard border with Russia. Dragging Ukraine into Euro-Atlantic structures without Russia, not to mention creating a mono-lingual Ukrainian state, as envisaged by ethnonationalists, has always been a dystopian project.

Those who pursued it neglected the organic texture of Ukrainian society, namely millions of family links with Russia, as well as the country’s history - the real one, not esoteric mythology touted by ethnonationalists.

Much of the Russian-Ukrainian bor-der cuts through the lands that were gradually colonised by people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds (Ukrain-ians, Russians, Serbs, Greeks, Jews, Germans - to name a few) as the Rus-sian empire expanded into what was previously known as the Wild Fields, a nomad land that makes a bulk of south-eastern Ukraine.

Until 1991, there had never been a physical or cultural border separat-ing Russian territory from places like Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city founded by Russia’s Tsar Aleksey, or Donetsk and Luhansk - mining cities founded by British engineers working for the Russian empire.

Rather than having a distinct border, Ukraine has always gradually blended into Russia as you move from west to east, with significant Ukrainian influences remaining for hundreds of kilometres into Russian territory. This is why the pursuit of rigid and old-fashioned nation state projects by both Russia and Ukraine puts people with complicated identities in places like Donbas and Crimea in an impossible situation, while politicians in Moscow, Kiev and Western capitals capitalise on their misery.

Western governments and polit-ical commentators tend to downplay very tangible problems faced by a large part of the Ukrainian population with

The grooming had to be accelerated last year, because the CDU got restless. Merkel gave up the party leadership so that Kramp-Karrenbauer could seize it, which she did, after a bruising contest.

firm and stable ties to Russia, while further alienating it by stoking up nationalism.

The consistent rejection of these people’s experience, cultural sensi-bilities and dignity by Western hawks and local nationalists leaves them with hardly any choice but to embrace the only political leader whose rhetoric agrees with their personal life experi-ences. This man is Russian President Vladimir Putin who called the collapse of the USSR the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century. It is not that these people are nostalgic about the Soviet system (not in its entirety anyway) but they are certainly longing for the times when there were no borders near where they live.

This alienation policy serves no one except Putin, who is the most grotesque and powerful embodiment of the global onslaught of aggressive nativism, spanning from Bolsonaro and Trump in the Americas to Orban and Kaczynski in Europe. In Russia, as much as everywhere else, this nativ-ism works primarily as a smokescreen for political corruption.

The bitterest irony is that people in Donbas and Crimea are genuine unionists, who are neither backward nor particularly anti-Western. All they want is not to be separated by a new Berlin Wall from their close kin in Russia.

Ukraine’s Russophones could become the most ardent supporters of European integration, if it was less about building new walls in the East, but more about showing them that both Ukraine and Russia have a place in a united Europe, even if not in the immediate future.

The author is a freelance journalist based in Riga.

A member of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service stands guard at a crossing point on the border between Russia and Ukraine in Kharkiv Region.

10 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019ASIA

More protesters leave HK campus ahead of pollsAP HONG KONG

More than 20 protesters inside a Hong Kong university campus surrendered to police yesterday, ahead of upcoming elections seen as a key gauge of public support for anti-government demonstrations.

At least 23 people left Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which has been ringed by riot police for days, as the campus siege edged closer to an end.

Ten protesters walked out together and were escorted to a police post outside the campus, while three were carried out on stretchers and four taken in wheelchairs. Five other students, believed to be minors, came out with their parents and were allowed to leave after police took their details.

It is unclear how many pro-testers are left behind. They are the holdouts from a much larger group that occupied the campus after battling police over the weekend. Some 1,000 protesters have either surrendered or been stopped while trying to flee.

The city’s largest political party slammed the flare-up in violence in the past week and urged some 4.1 million voters to use the ballot box this Sunday to reject the “black force” that had thrown the semi-autonomous Chinese territory into unprece-dented turmoil since June.

“The black force say they want to fight for freedom but now people cannot even express their views freely. We have even been stripped of our right to go to school and work,” said Starry Lee, who heads the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

The party is contesting 181 of the 452 district council seats, a low-level neighbourhood election held every four years and dominated by the pro-establishment camp. For the first time, all the seats will be con-tested. Public anger against the government and police could give a victory to the pro-democracy bloc that would bolster the legitimacy of the protest movement.

Protesters, who believe mainland China is increasing its control over the territory, are demanding fully democratic elections and an independent probe into alleged police bru-tality against demonstrators. The government rejected the demands and has warned the polls could be delayed if vio-lence persists and transport links are disrupted.

Medics lead demonstrators to waiting ambulances outside the campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University where dozens of pro-democracy protesters remain holed up inside, in Hong Kong, yesterday.

China demands Trump veto bills on HKAP BEIJING

China yesterday demanded President Donald Trump veto legislation aimed at supporting human rights in Hong Kong and renewed a threat to take “strong countermeasures” if the bills become law.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act undermined both China’s

interests and those of the US in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. “We urge the US to grasp the situation, stop its wrong-doing before it’s too late, prevent this act from becoming law (and) immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs,” Geng said at a daily news briefing.

“If the US continues to make the wrong moves, China will be taking strong countermeasures for sure,” Geng said. Foreign

Minister Wang Yi joined in the criticism, telling visiting former US Defence Secretary William Cohen that the legislation con-stituted an act of interference in China’s internal affairs and ignored violent acts committed by protesters.

“This bill sends the wrong signal to those violent criminals and its substance seeks to throw Hong Kong into chaos or even to destroy Hong Kong outright,” Wang said.

Pentagon denies report of S Korea troops pull-outREUTERS SEOUL/HANOI

The United States yesterday denied a South Korean news report that it was considering withdrawing up to 4,000 troops from South Korea if it does not pay more for maintaining a 28,500-strong US contingent deterring North Korean aggression.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the withdrawal of a US brigade, typ-ically 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers, had been discussed with the top brass of the US military in South Korea, citing an unidentified diplomatic source in Washington.

The report came two days after the United States broke off defence cost talks after demanding that South Korea raise its annual contribution for maintaining the US contingent to $5bn, a South Korean official said, more than five times what it pays now, in rare discord in the alliance.

“There is absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report that the US Department of Defense is currently considering

removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said earlier he was not aware of any plans to withdraw troops from South Korea if cost-sharing talks failed.

“We’re not threatening allies over this. This is a negotiation,” he told reporters during a trip to Vietnam. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Korea, which remains technically in a state of war with nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea following their 1950-53 conflict. North Korea has also developed a missile believed to be capable of firing a nuclear weapon at the US mainland.

South Korea’s defence min-istry said the Chosun report was “not the official position of the US government” while Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told a parliamentary panel no cut in US troops had been discussed.

US President Donald Trump has insisted that South Korea pay more, and has also sug-gested pulling the troops out altogether.

N Korea says Kim turned down Moon’s invitation to visit SouthAP SEOUL

Blaming its rival for a recent chill in relations, North Korea yesterday said its leader turned down an invitation by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to participate in a regional summit next week.

The announcement con-tinued North Korea’s current hardball approach with Wash-ington and Seoul following months of unprecedented sum-mitry as they near an end-of-year deadline issued by the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un (pictured), for the US to salvage fragile nuclear talks.

North Korean officials in recent weeks have insisted that Kim has no interest in another summit with US President Donald Trump unless the North gets something substantial in return.

They have also called for the United States to end “hostile” policies against the North, apparently referring to its enforcement of sanctions and pressure, and permanently halt joint military exercises

with the South for any progress in negotiations.

The statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said there is no reason for Kim to visit the South under “beclouded air” and accused Moon’s gov-ernment of failing to uphold agreements reached between the leaders in three summits last year.

KCNA said Moon’s office sent a letter on November 5 inviting Kim to attend a summit Moon is hosting in the southern city of Busan for Southeast Asian leaders on Monday and Tuesday. The agency said South

Korea asked the North to send a special envoy to the meetings if Kim couldn’t come.

The statement repeated demands that South Korea break away from the US, accusing the Moon government of harming inter-Korean coop-eration with its continued dependence on Washington.

“If (South Korean officials) think they can easily turn around the present serious sit-uation with just a piece of letter, they would be seriously mistaken,” the statement said.

“We will never follow without reason the impure attempt of (the South Korean) side to give impression that dialogue is going on between the top leaders... although no settlement of the fundamental issues between (the Koreas)... is being made.”

Moon’s office expressed regret, saying Kim is missing out on a rare opportunity to meet other Asian leaders.

It said the Korean leaders should meet often to discuss peace and cooperation, but did not directly address the North’s criticism of Moon’s policies.

Smoke blankets Sydney as wildfires spreadAP PERTH, AUSTRALIA

Hazardous smoke blanketed Sydney yesterday as wildfires burned across eastern and southern Australia.

Thick smog shrouded Australia’s most populous city, leaving its iconic skyline barely visible two days after smoke created serious air quality issues.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service said the smoke from around 50 wildfires burning mainly in northern parts of the state. Air pollution levels were reading nearly 10 times higher than the national standard.

“The smoke is expected to continue for several days,” the fire service said.

Wildfires have destroyed more than 600 homes in Australia’s most populous state. The annual Australian fire season normally peaks during the Southern Hem-isphere summer, but has started early after an unusually warm and dry winter.

People with respiratory or heart con-ditions were advised to stay indoors and seek medical advice when necessary.

The fire danger has also spread with authorities issuing declaring high fire risk for parts of Victoria state to the south. It is

the first time in a decade Victoria has been declared Code Red, with the highest pos-sible fire risk and a statewide total fire ban.

Temperatures were forecast over 40C (104F) in the state’s north.

Melbourne, Australia’s second most populous city, is forecast on Thursday to hit 39C (102F) after falling just short of its hottest November minimum at 26C (79F)

overnight. Victoria Emergency Man-agement Commissioner Andrew Crisp warned Victorians to be vigilant. “Given fires could start and move quickly, you won’t always receive a warning or be told what to do if a fire starts,” he said.

The fire danger was also elevated to “severe” in the island state of Tasmania off mainland Australia’s southeastern coast.

Paramedics take a break as they look out over a smoky haze blanketing Sydney, yesterday.

Singapore deports Hong Konger over protest talkAFP SINGAPORE

Singapore has deported a Hong Kong YouTube star after he organised a small gathering to discuss the protests convulsing his home city in violation of public assembly laws, police said yesterday.

The city-state’s elite are increasingly nervous about the unrest in rival financial hub Hong Kong, observers say, as they fear it could inspire dem-onstrations in the tightly-con-trolled country where protests are rare.

Police launched a probe after Alex Yeung, a pro-Beijing restaurateur known for his anti-protest tirades on YouTube, organised the gath-ering last month in a bar with a handful of people, mostly Hong Kongers.

Organising a public assembly without a police permit in Singapore is pun-ishable by a fine of up to Sg$5,000 ($3,700). Repeat offenders can be fined up to Sg$10,000 or jailed for a maximum of six months or both.

But after wrapping up their probe, police decided to give Yeung only a warning and sent him back to Hong Kong.

“Singapore has always been clear that foreigners should not advocate their political causes in Singapore, through public assemblies, and other pro-hibited means,” said a police statement.

In a video posted after police launched a probe, Yeung had accused supporters of the protests of setting him up at the gathering.

Poisoned Sumatran elephant found dead in IndonesiaAFP SEMANAH, INDONESIA

A Sumatran elephant has been found dead from an apparent poisoning, an Indonesian conservation official said yesterday, in the second killing of the critically endangered subspecies this week.

The 25-year-old female ele-phant’s corpse was discovered at a palm oil plantation in East Aceh regency yesterday, hundreds of kil-ometres from where another was found decapitated and with its tusks ripped off on Monday — a suspected poaching case.

“Our initial findings found that the Sumatran elephant was allegedly killed by poison,” said Rosa Rika, a doctor with Aceh’s conservation agency. The dead elephant’s stomach contents would be analysed to confirm its cause of death, she added.

Inonesia’s environment ministry estimates there are fewer than 2,000 Sumatran elephants still in the wild.

Malaysia arrests 680 Chinese over cyber scamAFP KUALA LUMPUR

Almost 700 Chinese nationals were arrested in Malaysia when authorities raided a building and busted a major online investment scam operation, immigration officials said yesterday.

With a fairly open visa regime and relatively developed telecommunications infrastructure, Malaysia has become a hotspot for foreigners looking to set up centres to run online scams.

Some suspects attacked security officials while others fled as a huge team from the immigration department launched a dramatic early morning raid on the six-storey premises south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Photos from Wednesday’s raid showed people standing behind rows of desks mounted with computers, hands held behind their heads, while others sat huddled together on the floor.

Officials seized more than 8,000 phones and almost 1,000 computers used to run the scam, which targeted victims in China by offering fast profits in return for investments.

About 100 suspects managed to escape from the building, and officials are trying to track them down.

Those captured — 603 men and 77 women — had entered Malaysia on a type of visa intended for tourists or visiting friends, but not for work, said immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Acting on a public tip-off, he said officials conducted surveillance on the building for almost a month before the raid.

Around 1,000 protesters have either surrendered or been stopped while trying to flee.

11FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 EUROPE

Labour pledges radical changes if it winsREUTERS BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn unveiled his party’s election manifesto yesterday, setting out radical plans to transform Britain with public sector pay rises, higher taxes on companies and a sweeping nationalisation of infrastructure.

Voters face a stark choice at the coun-try’s December 12 election: opposition leader Corbyn’s socialist vision, including wide-spread nationalisation and free public services, or Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s drive to deliver Brexit within months and build a “dynamic market economy”.

Speaking in the central English city of Birmingham, Corbyn set out his crowd-pleasing plans, offering something for almost everyone in Britain — from help to parents with young children to free university edu-cation and more money for elderly care.

In a speech punctuated by applause and

standing ovations from supporters, he promised to stand up for ordinary people against the “bankers, billionaires and the establishment” who was fighting to keep a system that was “rigged in their favour”.

“Labour’s manifesto is a manifesto for hope, that is what this document is — a man-ifesto that will bring real change,” Corbyn said, describing his plan as the most “radical and ambitious plan” in decades.

“A manifesto full of popular policies that the political establishment has blocked for a generation.”

Lagging in the polls, Corbyn hopes his message of change will drown out criticism of his Brexit stance, which even some in his party say lacks the clarity of Johnson’s vow to “get Brexit done”. Instead, the Labour leader says he will get Brexit “sorted” in six months, with a new exit deal put to a second referendum as a way to bring the country together. Hoping to avoid comparisons with Labour’s 1983 socialist-inspired manifesto

described later by a then Labour lawmaker as “the longest suicide note in history”, Corbyn rejected suggestions he was harping back to the 1970s.

He was instead offering “a green indus-trial revolution”, an ambitious plan that, he said, could be paid for in part by taxing the richest in Britain.

The manifesto showed an extra £82.9bn of spending, matched by £82.9bn of revenue-raising measures.Both parties have promised to end economic austerity and spend more money on public services before the election, which will determine how, when and even whether Britain’s departure from the European Union happens.Brandon Lewis, a Conservative minister, said Labour would go on “a reckless spending spree which would take a sledgehammer to the British economy”.

Most polls put the Conservative Party in front, but few are able or willing to predict a victor in the election.

Labour could be in a position to form a minority government if Johnson’s Conserv-atives fall short of an outright majority in parliament and rivals are prepared to support Corbyn as prime minister.

But to implement its manifesto in full the party would likely need an even bigger turn-around in the election race to claim a majority of its own. One polling expert described the chances of this as “close to zero” based on current evidence.

Held after three years of negotiations to leave the EU, the December election for the first time will show how far Brexit has torn traditional political allegiances apart and will test an electorate increasingly tired of voting.

Britian’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson lays a brick during a visit to a housing development in Bedford, Britain, yesterday.

Johnson’s party raises 26 times more in donations than LabourREUTERS LONDON

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party raised 26 times more in political donations than the main opposition Labour Party in the first week of the official British election campaign.

The Conservatives raised £5.7m ($7.4m) in six days from November 6 while Jeremy Cor-byn’s Labour raised just £218,500 pounds ahead of the December 12 vote.

Johnson’s ability to pull in such large donations underlines his popularity and boosts his

party, which is already ahead in the polls. Labour even trailed two of the smaller parties in the fundraising stakes, although it tends to raise more money from smaller donations that fall below the Electoral Commission’s 7,500-pound notification threshold.

“While the Conservative Party is in the pockets of vested interests and the super-rich, we are proud that the Labour Party is funded by hundreds of thou-sands of people donating what they can afford to build a fairer society,” Labour Chairman Ian Lavery said in response to the figures.

Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, poses with supporters during a general election campaign event at the Upper Gornal Pensioners Club in Dudley, Britain, yesterday,

American, Australian freed by Taliban treated in GermanyAP BERLIN

An American and an Australian who were freed by the Taliban this week after three years in captivity are now in Germany receiving treatment at a US military hospital, officials said yesterday.

American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks were met at the US Air Force’s

Ramstein base in southern Germany by US Ambassador Richard Grenell and Australian Ambassador Lynette Wood after they arrived late Wednesday, a US official said.

Both men were then taken to the nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center where they will stay for some time for medical evaluations and a reintegration process, the official told The Associated Press, speaking on

condition of anonymity to discuss the case.

The two former American University in Kabul professors were freed on Tuesday in Afghanistan in exchange for three top Taliban figures.

A Taliban statement that fol-lowed the swap, which freed the younger brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the fearsome Haqqani network, called the exchange a

“confidence-building measure” that could help bring an end to Afghanistan’s endless war.

The US State Department said after their release that they would both soon be reunited with their loved ones.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed grat-itude for the hostages’ release, saying on Twitter that Weeks’ family had “asked the Australian government to convey their

relief that their long ordeal is over, and their gratitude to all those who have contributed to Tim’s safe return.”

Grenell told Fox News that he had presented King with an American flag when he met him at Ramstein and told him that “we never forgot about you.”

Grenell said King then told him: “I know that, and that is what sustained me all these years.”

Portuguese police demand better wagesPolice officers demonstrate in font of the Portuguese Parliament to demand better wages and better working conditions in Lisbon, Portugal, yesterday.

Dogs under DNA probe after woman’s murderAFP LILLE, FRANCE

French police investigating the death of a pregnant woman mauled to death by dogs while walking in the woods have carried out DNA tests on 67 dogs to try identify those that attacked her, investigators said yesterday.

Elisa Pilarski, 29, was found dead on Saturday in Retz forest about 90km (55 miles) northeast of Paris.

A hunt with hounds was underway at the time in the forest where she was walking her own dog.

An autopsy showed that she died of bleeding after several dog bites to the upper and lower limbs and the head.

Frederic Trinh, the public prosecutor leading the investi-gation into her death, said yes-terday that DNA tests had been carried out on 67 dogs — 62 from the hunting club and five belonging to Pilarski and her partner.

An investigation has been launched against persons unknown — a common pro-cedure in France at the start of a probe — for manslaughter due to carelessness or negligence.

Trinh said that police still had no main line of inquiry.

He confirmed that Pilarski had phoned her partner, who was at work, before the attack to tell him that she had come across “threatening dogs”.

In a Facebook message she

also wrote that a German shepherd was on the prowl but police had yet to identify that dog, Trinh said.

Pilarski’s partner Christophe told BFM channel that when he arrived on the scene around 45 minutes later he came across hunting hounds first of all and a rider.

He then saw a pack of “around 30” dogs near a ravine where he found her body as well as the couple’s own dog Curtis, whom he said had been bitten on the head.

Sobbing during the interview, he told BFM that what he initially mistook for a log turned out to be Pilarski’s bare stomach.

She was “entirely undressed” and had been “bitten all over,” he said.

“It can only be the hunt,” he said.

According to local news-paper Le Courrier Picard, the hounds were hunting deer.

Hunting associations have however denied that they could be to blame.

The Paris-based French hunting association said in a statement that “nothing shows the involvement of hunting hounds in the death of this woman”.

France has more than 30,000 hunts with hounds in total and the association stated that “these dogs are trained to hunt a particular animal and o b e y m a n i n a l l circumstances”.

16 found sealed in trailer on ferry bound for IrelandAFP DUBLIN

Sixteen people have been found sealed inside a trailer on a ferry bound for the Irish port of Rosslare, shipping operator Stena Line said yesterday.

The discovery draws renewed attention to the issue of illegal immigration and human trafficking in western Europe, after 39 Vietnamese were found dead in a trailer in Britain last month.

And on Tuesday, the crew of a cargo ferry run by DFDS Seaways found 25 migrants in a refrigerated container on a boat sailing to Britain and forced the vessel to return to port.

The 16 individuals in the latest discovery were found aboard a Wednesday night sailing of the Stena Horizon ship from Cherbourg in northern France.

“One of our employees during a routine inspection dis-covered 16 people in a sealed trailer on the vehicle deck,” Stena Line chief communica-tions officer Ian Hampton said in a statement.

“All the individuals are reported to be in good health and have been moved to a private passenger lounge on the ship.”

The ship was due to arrive in port mid-afternoon Thursday, according to the firm, and immigration and security officials have been alerted to meet them.

There was no immediate comment from Irish police or indications of the people’s nationalities.

Meanwhile in Dublin, a man being held for alleged partici-pation in the British case involving the 39 Vietnamese victims appeared in court for an extradition hearing.

Eamon Harrison is alleged to have delivered the trailer in which the 39 victims were found dead to Zeebrugge in Belgium before it travelled on to a port in southeast England.

Pilots who landed plane in field honouredAFP MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday bestowed the coun-try’s top state honour on two pilots who safely landed a plane carrying more than 230 people in a corn field after a bird strike.

At a ceremony in the Kremlin, Putin handed pilot Damir Yusupov and co-pilot Georgy Murzin the Hero of Russia awards, praising the c r e w ’ s c o u r a g e a n d professionalism.

“They were able to land the

plane literally in an empty field and saved dozens of lives,” Putin said.

Yusupov, 42, who wore his pilot uniform, said the award was a recognition of the crew’s actions.

“I am very proud and inspired to further serve our motherland,” he said.

Murzin, who also wore a uniform, said he would continue to “perfect his professional skills and ensure flight safety.” At 23, Murzin is one of the youngest Russians to receive the Hero of Russia award.

In August, the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 flying to Crimea hit a flock of seagulls shortly after take-off from Moscow’s Zhuk-ovsky airport.

Birds were sucked into the engines and the crew decided to immediately land, bringing the plane down in the corn field about a kilometre from the runway, with the engines off and the landing gear retracted.

The aircraft, carrying 226 passengers and seven crew, was evacuated using inflatable ramps. Russian media called the landing a “miracle”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promises to stand up for ordinary people against the “bankers, billionaires and the establishment” who are fighting to keep a system that was “rigged in their favour”.

12 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019AMERICAS

Bolivian socialists say Morales, ex-VP not to contest pollsREUTERS LA PAZ

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales and his Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera, who both resigned under pressure this month, will not be candidates for their Movement for Socialism (MAS) party in the next elections, a prominent party official said yesterday.

“We are going to participate in the elections and we are going to do it with young candidates, especially for president and vice- president,” Henry Cabrera, senior MAS member and vice- president of the house of dep-uties, said. “We are not going to recycle candidates.”

On Wednesday, Bolivia’s interim government presented a bill that would annul the dis-puted October 20 vote, appoint a new electoral board and forge a path to new elections. Cabrera said MAS would not propose members for the new electoral board. The South American

country’s two chambers of con-gress are expected to debate the bill beginning yesterday and pos-sibly extending into Friday. There is no date set for new elections.

Long-term leftist leader Morales, Garcia Linera and several other top MAS officials stepped down on November 10 under pressure from protesters, civil groups, security forces and allies, as well as an international audit that found serious irregu-larities in the election count and cast doubt on Morales’ announced outright victory.

The interim government of conservative former Senator

Jeanine Anez is grappling to mend stark divisions between Morales’ supporters and oppo-nents seeking to move beyond his nearly 14-year rule.

Demonstrators calling for the resignation of Anez were marching from the high-altitude city of El Alto to the capital La Paz.

Led by a protester on a motor scooter carrying a multi-col-oured flag representing indig-enous tribes of the Andean region, the march featured people dressed in working class western garb with baseball hats and women in native dress.

Street violence has shaken the country and killed 32 people since the disputed October election.

Human Rights Watch called on Bolivia to repeal a decree it said was passed on November 15 that granted the military broad discretion in the use of force.

“Bolivian authorities should stop harassing journalists and government opponents and

ensure that judicial authorities conduct independent, impartial, and prompt investigations into

deaths during clashes between security forces and protesters,” the organisation said.

Colombia joins Latin American year of rage with strikeBLOOMBERG BOGOTA

Colombia is seeing its largest protests in years with labour unions, students and indigenous groups yesterday leading a nationwide strike aimed at the deeply unpopular President Ivan Duque.

Police in anti-riot gear fired tear gas in at least one part of Bogota, and local TV showed protesters vandalising bus sta-tions in the capital and also in Cali.

Otherwise, demonstrations were mainly peaceful through yesterday morning. Protesters

carried banners saying, “Against Duque’s neo-liberal policies,” “Students are not terrorists,” and “I march for peace.”

Organisers initially called the strike to raise pressure on Duque as his government plans to reform pension and labour laws. But it has morphed into a broad-based rejection of his adminis-tration, with groups from air-traffic controllers to yoga teachers pledging to join in.

“This protest is to show the government that it has to listen to the people,” said Diana Oviedo, 34, who joined a dem-onstration at Bogota’s national park yesterday.

Similar anti-government sentiment has fuelled protests across Latin America, with large-scale demonstrations pushing leaders to roll back austerity pro-grammes, and helping drive Bolivia’s long-standing pres-ident, Evo Morales, out of office. Investors are pricing in a risk that Colombia may also see more political instability.

“I’m following it pretty closely. The government has something to be nervous about,” said Oren Barack, managing director of fixed income at AGP Alliance Global Partners in New York, which holds Colombia sov-ereign and corporate debt.

“There’s a lot of tension in Latin America right now.”

Groups taking part are pro-testing a range of issues including education funding, corruption and unsolved murders of social leaders. The government said it will seal the borders and allow local authorities to take measures such as imposing curfews to control violence.

In response, the 43-year-old Duque has defended his record and offered “to listen to all com-munities through a permanent dialogue.” His office has also gone on the offensive, describing many of the strike organisers’ grievances as myths, and

releasing videos juxtaposing images of violent protests with those of people happily working, urging Colombians to “construct, not destroy.”

Discontent has been quietly simmering in the country, but hasn’t boiled over into mass street violence like that seen in neighbouring countries.

Colombia last saw large-scale demonstrations in 2013 during an agriculture strike in which vast swaths of the country were paralysed by highway blockades, and buildings in downtown Bogota were van-d a l i s e d b y m a s k e d demonstrators.

Venezuelan students march in bid to spur oppositionREUTERS CARACAS

Venezuelan university students attempted to march on the Defence Ministry yesterday to demand that the armed forces “side with the constitution” and help oust President Nicolas Maduro as the opposition tries to revive its flagging movement.

Several hundred students had gathered in the Central University of Venezuela’s campus, chanting slogans and singing the national anthem. But their route to the ministry was blocked by hundreds of riot police and national guard troops. There were no reports of clashes.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido last week initiated a new wave of demonstrations to topple the deeply unpopular Socialist Party, which has clung to power despite a gruelling economic crisis. But Guaido’s return-to-the-streets strategy has left many unconvinced.

Turnout at the protests he called on Saturday was far lower than earlier in the year. In January, Guaido assumed an interim presidency after declaring Maduro’s 2018 re-election a fraud. His supporters are frustrated that, ten months on, Maduro remains in power despite aggressive US sanctions and over 50 nations recognising Guaido as the rightful president. The protest yesterday also appeared to be attracting fewer students than before, though attendees said they remained determined.

Student organisers called the march with the intention of walking 5km to the Defence Ministry to try to sway the armed forces.

Supporters of former Bolivian President, Evo Morales, carry coffins of people they say were killed during recent clashes with security forces in Senkata, as they take part in a protest, in La Paz, yesterday.

Bolivia’s interim govt has presented a bill that would annul the disputed October 20 vote, appoint a new electoral board and forge a path to new elections.

13FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

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‘Corruption’ probe meant Bidens, impeachment witnessesAP WASHINGTON

Key impeachment witnesses said yesterday it was clear that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was pursuing political investigations of Democrats in Ukraine. Their testimony undercuts the president’s argument he only wanted to root out Ukrainian corruption.

State Department official David Holmes said he understood that Giuliani’s push to investigate “Burisma,” the Ukraine gas company where Joe Biden’s son Hunter served on the board, was code for the former vice-pres-ident and his family. Former White House adviser Fiona Hill warned that Giuliani had been making “explosive” and “incen-diary” claims.

“He was clearly pushing forward issues and ideas that would, you know, probably come back to haunt us and in fact,” Hill testified. “I think that’s where we are today.” Testimony from Hill and Holmes capped an intense week in the historic inquiry.

The House probe focuses on allegations that Trump sought investigations of Joe Biden and his son — and the discredited idea that Ukraine rather than Russia interfered in the 2016 US election — in return for US military aid that Ukraine needed to fend off Russian aggression, and for a White House visit the new Ukrainian president wanted that would demonstrate his backing from the West.

Hill a former White House Russia analyst, sternly warned Republican lawmakers — and implicitly Trump — to quit pushing the “fictional”

Ukraine-interference narrative as they defend Trump in the impeachment inquiry.

Holmes, a late addition to the schedule, testified that he came forward after overhearing Trump ask about “investigations” during a “colourful” phone call with Ambassador Gordon Sondland at a Kyiv restaurant this summer.

Holmes said he realised his firsthand account of what he heard would be relevant.

“Those events potentially bore on the question of whether the president did, in fact, have knowledge that those senior offi-cials were using the levers of our diplomatic power” to push Ukraine to investigate his rivals, he testified.

As Holmes was delivering opening remarks, explaining how the ambassador “winced,” holding the cellphone away from his ear because the president was talking so loudly, Trump tried to undercut the career diplomat’s account of overhearing the conversation.

The president tweeted that while his own hearing is “great” he’s never been able to under-stand another person’s conver-sation that wasn’t on speaker. “Try it,” he suggested.

Holmes also testified about his growing concern as Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, orchestrated Ukraine policy outside official diplomatic channels. It was a concern shared by others, he testified.

The president instructed his top diplomats to work with Giuliani, who was publicly pur-suing investigations into Demo-crats, according to Sondland and others testifying during the week of blockbuster public hearings.

Holmes testified that he grew alarmed, watching as Giuliani was “making frequent public statements pushing for Ukraine to investigate interference in the 2016 election and issues related to Burisma and the Bidens”. The landmark House impeachment inquiry was sparked after another call, on July 25, in which Trump

asked Ukraine President Volo-dymyr Zelenskiy for “a favor,” the investigations. A still-anonymous whistleblower’s official gov-ernment complaint about that call led the House to launch the current probe.

Hill was an aide to former national security adviser John Bolton and stressed that she is “nonpartisan” and has worked under Republican and Demo-cratic presidents.

She appealed to the GOP to stop peddling an alternative theory of the 2016 election. She contended that Russia wanted to delegitimize “our entire presi-dency,” whether the winner be Trump or Hillary Clinton, by sowing the “seed of doubt” in the outcome. “This is exactly what the Russian government was hoping for,” she said about the currently

divisive American political climate. “They would pit one side of our electorate against the others.” She warned that Russia is gearing up to intervene again in the 2020 US election. “We are running out of time to stop them,” she testified.

“I would ask that you please not promote politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests,” Hill said in prepared opening remarks to the House Intelligence Committee.

She said the conclusion by US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the US election “is beyond dispute.” She said, “I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternative narrative that the Ukrainian government is a US adversary, and that Ukraine, not Russia, attacked us in 2016,” she said.

Fiona Hill (left), former senior director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council, and David Holmes, Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Kiev, take oath before testifying to a House Intelligence Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Democratic Presidential DebateSenator Elizabeth Warren (left), former vice-president Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders (right) participate in the Democratic Presidential Debate at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, yesterday. Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls were chosen from the larger field of candidates to participate in the debate hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post.

Pelosi: Trump used office for personal gainREUTERS WASHINGTON

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday there was clear evidence President Donald Trump had used his office for personal gain and undermined national security, but that no final impeachment decision had been made as House Democrats continued their impeachment inquiry into the Republican president.

Pelosi, speaking at her weekly press conference, reit-erated that it was up to the House Intelligence Committee to determine how to proceed with the investigation as law-makers continued to gather facts and hear from witnesses.

“The evidence is clear... that the president has used his office for his own personal gain and in doing so undermined the national security,” she told reporters. “He has violated his oath of office.” The Democrat-led House Intelligence Com-mittee was yesterday con-ducting its fifth and final scheduled day of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry centered on Trump’s request in a July 25 phone call that Ukrainian President Volo-dymyr Zelenskiy conduct probes of Trump’s political rivals.

The inquiry is also exam-ining whether Trump’s with-holding of $391m in security aid to Ukraine was meant to pressure Zelenskiy to undertake the investigations.

Senate sends Trump short-term bill to avoid government shutdownBLOOMBERG WASHINGTON

The US Senate passed a four-week spending bill yesterday, sending President Donald Trump the measure to put off a possible government shutdown until December 20. He is expected to sign it before funding expires at midnight.

The Senate vote was 74-20, after the measure passed the House on a 231-192 vote on Tuesday.

The stopgap measure is nec-essary because Congress — as has become the norm in the past decade — failed to complete action on the 12 annual spending bills needed to keep agencies operating by the October 1 start of the fiscal year. The gov-ernment is currently funded on a short-term measure that runs out this week.

Democrats and Republicans are continuing to negotiate

spending levels for the 12 bills. The most problematic measure covers Homeland Security, since that would address White House demands for $9bn sought by Trump for the border wall. Putting more money into that bill for the wall would mean less funding for other domestic pri-orities under the $1.3 trillion budget cap signed into law in July.

One proposal would establish spending levels for the 12 bills including Homeland Security and allow lawmakers to debate later how to pay for the wall from within the DHS budget. To do that, the price tag of the wall would need to be less than the amount Trump is seeking, according to both Republicans and Democrats.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, said on Wednesday that both sides were getting closer to a deal. He

said he would support a Demo-cratic proposal to raise the overall cap by allowing a recent veterans health-care reform law to be covered by emergency funds. The White House has opposed such a move.

“They sent us another offer and we are evaluating it,” Shelby said of his Democratic counter-parts. “They are getting closer and closer on the numbers.” Senate leaders rejected an attempt by Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, to cut the level of spending under the bill by 1 percent and to direct the savings toward highway and environmental spending.

The bill passed by the Senate extends through March 15 the elements of the Foreign Intelli-gence Surveillance Act that are set to expire on December 15. The provisions allow expanded authority to wiretap terrorism suspects and collect call record details.

Fiona Hill, a former White House Russia analyst, sternly warned Republican lawmakers to quit pushing the “fictional” Ukraine-interference narrative as they defend Trump in the impeachment inquiry.

14 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019CLASSIFIEDS

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PAGE | 16 PAGE | 16

GM’s lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler

raises risks for PSA Group’s deal

Stocks extend losses as Hong Kong bill fuels trade fears

15FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019

On the sidelines of the forum, Al Mohamed and Al Sharqi witnessed the signing of two MOUs between the Qatari and Turkish sides.

Market cap fell by 0.98 percent to reach QR566.76bn as compared to QR572.35bn at the end of previous week, QNA reports.

Qatar-Turkey trade volume rises by 85% to QR8.7bnTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Trade relations between Qatar and Turkey have seen a signif-icant development over the past few years, with total trade volume between both countries registering a remarkable 85 percent growth from QR4.7bn in 2017 to QR8.7bn in 2018, Qatar Chamber Board Member Dr Mohamed Jawhar Al Mohamed has said while addressing the Qatar-Turkey Law & Investment Forum which opened in Istanbul yesterday.

The forum was organised by Al Sulaiti Law Firm in cooper-ation with Kilinc Law Consulting and supported by Qatar Chamber and Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

QC Director General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi and Vice President of Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Ayhan Zeytinoğlu also attended the event.

On the sidelines of the forum, Al Mohamed and Al Sharqi wit-nessed the signing of two MoUs between the Qatari and Turkish sides.

The first MoU was signed between Al Sulaiti Law Firm and Kilinc Law Consulting. The second MOU was signed between Khalifa Al Kuwari Law Firm and Khalil Arslan Law Firm.

In his speech, Al Mohamed stressed that Turkey is a very attractive destination for investment for the Qatari private sector, assuring that Qatari busi-nessmen are looking forward to further enhancing cooperation ties and building commercial partnerships and alliances with their Turkish counterparts whether in Qatar or in Turkey.

“There are more than 450 Turkish companies operating in the Qatari market with Qatari partners. Turkish companies implemented more than 130

projects amounting to $5bn within the past few years. Also, there are 130 Qatari companies working in Turkey in different sectors,” he added.

Underscoring the resilience of Qatar’s economy, Al Mohamed said that it has managed to overcome the repercussions of the siege imposed on the country for more than two years. He added: “According to the World Bank, Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by 2 percent in 2019, 3 percent in 2020 and 3.2 percent in 2021, driven by higher growth in the service sector as Qatar readies to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Governmental measures made by Qatar such as developing legislation gov-erning the business environment, including the law on non-Qatari capital investment in economic activity and free zones law, con-tributed to strengthening the competitiveness of Qatar economy and attracting more foreign investments to the country”.

Qatar has adopted flexible economic policies and offered a multitude of incentives to attract domestic and foreign invest-ments, as well as establishing an

advanced infrastructure, eco-nomic logistic zones, industrial lands, and provided facilitations to stimulate foreign companies to enter into the Qatari market.

Al Mohamed called upon

Turkish companies to benefit from the pro-investment climate in Qatar and from the incentives offered by the government for investors and to get acquainted with business opportunities

available in all sectors.“Qatari market welcomes

Turkish companies. Qatari busi-nessmen are eager to build eco-nomic alliances with their Turkish counterparts,” he added.

Qatar Chamber Board Member Dr Mohamed Jawhar Al Mohamed (standing right) and QC Director General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi (standing left) witnessing the signing of the two cooperation agreements during the Qatar-Turkey Law & Investment Forum which opened in Istanbul, yesterday.

Oil rises on reports that Opec might extend output cutsREUTERS /LONDON

Oil prices rose yesterday following a Reuters report that Opec and its allies are likely to extend output cuts until mid-2020, while fresh reports emerged that China had invited US trade negotiators for a new round of talks.

Brent crude was up 63 cents, or 1 percent, at $63.03 a barrel by 1437 GMT, while West

Texas Intermediate crude rose 76 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $57.77. Both benchmarks had fallen earlier in the session.

To support oil prices, Opec and its allies are likely to extend output cuts when they meet next month with non-Opec producer Russia, according to Opec sources.

The sources told Reuters that formally announcing deeper cuts looked unlikely for

now although a message about better com-pliance with existing curbs could be sent to the market.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Russia and Opec had “a common goal” of keeping the oil market balanced and predictable, and Moscow would continue cooperation under a global deal cutting oil supply.

QSE’s benchmark index closes at 10,267.27 points

15 trade deals inked at Indonesia expoTHE PENINSULA DOHA

As many as 15 trade agreements worth more than $100m have been signed between Indonesian businesses and their Qatari coun-terparts during the first Indonesia Expo 2019 which was held at the InterContinental Hotel Doha The City from November 17-19.

Indonesia’s Ambassador to Qatar Muhammad Basri Sidehabi witnessed the signing of the agreements which included com-mitment for products trading, investment, and partnership.

The event, dubbed as the first solo Indonesian products exhi-bition in Qatar, was inaugurated

by Qatar Chamber Official Saad Al Dabbagh and President of Qatar-Indonesia Business Council (QIBC) Farhan Al Sayed in the presence of the Indonesian Ambassador and 60 dignitaries from the diplomatic and business communities in Qatar.

Over 600 visitors also attended the event, which fea-tured as many as 45 Indonesian companies and two Indonesian cooperatives, and was supported by the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and its Aceh Province Regional Chapter, which brought oppor-tunities for the business com-munity in Qatar to explore trade and investment potential

between the two countries. Par-ticipants also engaged in Business to Business Matchmaking which resulted in several business deals.

Speaking about the expo, Sidehabi said he hoped that the exhibition would open more access for business communities from the two countries to expand their cooperation in all sectors of economy, not only in trade exchange but also in attracting more investment, col-laboration, and partnership for the benefit of the two brotherly countries.

Referring to the theme of the expo ‘Gateway to Indonesian Products’, the Indonesian Ambassador reiterated the

importance of sustained efforts towards concrete business and economic cooperation.

Al Sayed added that Qatar and Indonesia will have a very diversified business relations in the future.

He went on to thank the Indonesian Ambassador and the Embassy of the Republic of Indo-nesia for organising the event, and reiterated the important and strategic partnership between Qatar and Indonesia, considering that Indonesia is a G-20 member, the largest economy of ASEAN members, and the largest Muslim populated country in the world. The expo also featured a number of cultural performances.

Indonesia’s Ambassador to Qatar, Muhammad Basri Sidehabi, President of Qatar-Indonesia Business Council (QIBC) Farhan Al Sayed, and other officials with other participants at the first Indonesia Expo 2019 in Doha, which concluded on Tuesday.

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar Stock Exchange’s (QSE) benchmark index lost 95.93 points, or 0.93 percent, last week when the bourse closed yesterday at 10,267.27 points.

Trading value during last week decreased by 3.39 percent to reach QR1.02bn compared to QR1.06bn.

Trading volume decreased by 19.99 percent to reach 266.52 million shares, as against 333.12 million shares, while the number of transactions fell by 11.68 percent, to reach 25,754 trans-actions as compared to 29,160 transactions. Market cap fell by 0.98 percent to reach QR566.76bn as compared to QR572.35bn at the end of pre-vious week, QNA reports.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded value last week with 61.88 percent of the total traded value. Industries sector accounted for 11.52 percent. Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted for 10.95 percent and Telecoms sector accounted 6.01 percent.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded volume last week with 40.08 percent of the total traded volume.

Industries sector accounted for 22.20 percent. Real Estate sector accounted for 17.11 percent and Telecoms sector accounted 9.56 percent.

Banking and Financial Services sector led traded number of transactions last week with 46.5 percent of the total number of transactions. Industries sector accounted for 19.65 percent.

Consumer Goods and Services sector accounted for 11.31 percent and Telecoms

sector accounted for 10.13 percent.

From the 46 listed com-panies 16 ended last week higher, while 29 fell and one remained unchanged.

QNB led trading value during last week accounted for 23.3 percent of the total trading value. Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) accounted for 17.17 percent and Com-mercial Bank accounted 7.84 percent.

When compared on daily basis the QSE index dropped 69.41 points, or 0.67 percent, compared to Wednesday’s closing.

The volume of shares traded decreased to 47.89 million from 51.51 million on Wednesday and the value of shares decreased to QR229.12m from QR236,14m on Wednesday.

From the 49 companies listed on QSE, shares of 42 saw trading today. From these, 10 companies gained, 26 closed lower and remained 6 com-panies unchanged.

Indices of two sector ended in green zone and five sectors ended in red zone today. QSE Total Return Index decreased 0.67 percent to 18,892.64 points and QSE Al Rayan Islamic Index up 0.62 percent to 3,930.56 points. QSE All Share Index lost 0.63 percent to 3,029.37 points.

16 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019BUSINESS

GM’s lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler raises risks for PSA Group’s dealBLOOMBERG PARIS

General Motors’ surprise racket-eering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has raised the risks for the Italian-American company’s plan to combine with Peugeot-maker PSA Group of France.

The suit filed in federal court in the US alleges Fiat Chrysler inflicted billions of dollars in damages by bribing United Auto Workers’ brass for competitive advantages that the union denied to GM. The allegations in a years-long corruption scheme have already landed car executives and labuor leaders in jail.

Fiat Chrysler has called the alle-gations “meritless” and said it assumed GM was trying to undermine the Peugeot deal, which was unveiled last month and expected to be signed in the coming weeks. GM’s general counsel Craig Glidden (pictured) told reporters the tie-up has no bearing on GM’s complaint.

Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann said yesterday he’s con-fident the company will sign a

binding agreement before the end of the year. A representative of PSA declined to comment.

The French manufacturer may use the lawsuit to bargain down the price of the combination, according to Commerzbank analyst Demian Flowers. Still, he cautioned, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares’s possible use of the litigation is difficult to evaluate without knowing whether GM’s claims are credible and likely to result in damages.

Tavares honed his negotiating skills with the purchase of GM’s Opel and Vauxhall brands in 2018 for €1.3bn ($1.44bn). Since the Fiat deal was announced, intense talks have continued between the two companies, intent on getting a signed agreement.

In the meantime, analysts have questioned the value of the deal for PSA. The French carmaker’s share-holders are “taking all the risks,” Deutsche Bank’s Gaetan Toulemonde wrote earlier this week. RBC Capital Markets has said PSA is overpaying, while Citigroup called the proposal heavily skewed in Fiat Chrysler’s favor.

Investors have so far shrugged off the risks or rewards of the lawsuit for the French automaker. PSA shares were trading 0.7 percent higher at 14:30pm in Paris while FCA shares were down 2.2 percent in Milan.

The suit describes Chrysler Group, purchased by Fiat in 2014, as an “iconic US auto company.” Shortly after the acquisition, GM alleges, Fiat “betrayed our govern-ment’s and the US auto industry’s trust and embarked on a systemic and near decade-long conspiracy to bribe senior union officials to corrupt the collective bargaining process and labor relations.”

GM’s Glidden went further. “Something’s wrong when a foreign company can come to the US and say it will abide by law, but then systematically violate those laws,” he told reporters Wednesday.

“If GM ends up being able to ignite political interests in this issue, then you have a risk factor,” Flowers said.

US economic adviser Larry Kudlow has already warned that the Trump administration intends

to review the planned Franco-Italian merger. He pointed to the fact that PSA counts China’s Dongfeng among its investors, meaning the combined entity would have a Chinese shareholder.

“We have to make sure that whatever China business develop-ments occur do not occur to the det-riment of not only of our economy but our own national security,” he told Bloomberg TV.

While analysts haven’t neces-sarily seen China as a dealbreaker, the Trump administration has shown its willingness to take aggressive policies on trade to protect the domestic car industry. Trump last week said he will decide fairly soon on whether to impose tariffs on imports of European automobiles.

Stocks extend losses as Hong Kong bill fuels trade fearsAFP LONDON

Stock markets extended recent losses yesterday after US law-makers passed a bill supporting civil rights in embattled Hong Kong, jeopardising delicate Chinese-American trade talks as Beijing threatened to fight back.

Investors, already nervous about slow progress of the talks, were sent running for the hills after both houses of Congress over-whelmingly agreed to the bill and

sent it to be signed by US President Donald Trump.

“A third day in the red for equity markets as the US-China trade deal, or lack of, continues to dictate market sentiment,” said Craig Erlam (pictured), senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.

China yesterday accused the United States of seeking to “destroy” Hong Kong and threatened retaliation after Con-gress passed legislation supporting the pro-democracy movement that has thrown the city into nearly six months of turmoil.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act “indulges violent criminals” that China blames for the worsening unrest and aims to “muddle or even destroy Hong Kong”.

The city’s main stocks index led the losses yesterday, closing down 1.6 percent.

“Recent moves in stock markets seem to be almost solely driven by the latest developments in US-Sino talks,” said XTB chief market analyst David Cheetham.

CROSSWORD

A tourist group from India sets out on a vacation to only have their trip to turn into a patriotic mission. Will it end well for them?

PAGALPANTI

MALL ROYAL PLAZA

Aayushmanbhava (2D/Kannada) 2:00pmAkashaganga II (2D/Malayalam) 2:00pmFrozen II (2D/Animation) 2:15, 4:30, 6:30 & 7:15pmSanga Thamizhan (2D/Tamil) 4:30pmPagalpanti (2D/Hindi) 4:00pm KD (2D/Tamil) 11:30pm 21 Bridges (2D/Action) 7:00pmAdithya Varma (2D/Tamil) 8:30 & 11:15pmJack And Daniel (2D/Malayalam) 8:45 & 11:30pmMiracle In Cell No. 7 (2D/Turkish) 9:00pm

Frozen II (2D/Animation) 10:30am, 12:45, 3:00, 5:15 & 7:30pm; Adithya Varma (2D/Tamil) 10:30am, 4:45 & 11:00pm; Pagalpanti (2D/Hindi) 11:30am & 5:30pm21 Bridges (2D/Action) 9:45pm & 12:00pmJack And Daniel (2D/Malayalam) 1:45 & 8:00pmSanga Thamizhan (2D/Tamil) 2:30 & 8:30pm; Akashaganga II (2D/Malayalam) 11:30pm

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AL KHOR

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10 Minutes Gone (2D/Action) 1:30, 1:45, 10:00 & 10:30pm; 21 Bridges (2D/Action) 11:30, 3:15,6:00, 8:00, 7:45, 3:50, 10:00, 10:30 & 11:45pmAdithya Varma (2D/Tamil) 1:30, 3:30, 8:00 & 10:00pmFrozen II (3D/Animation) 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30, 12:45, 1:30, 3:00, 3:40, 5:00, 5:15, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:15, 7:30, 8:10, 8:15, 9:30pm; Jack And Daniel (2D/Malayalam) 1:30, 3:20, 7:40 & 11:30pmSanga Thamizhan (2D/Tamil) 10:30am, 12:30, 4:40, 8:40 & 11:00pm; Pagalpanti (2D/Hindi) 10:30am, 12:30, 5:00, 7:00 & 11:30pm

KD (2D/Tamil) 2:00pm Akashaganga II (2D/Malayalam) 2:15pmFrozen II (2D/Animation) 2:00, 4:15, 6:15 & 7:45pm Sanga Thamizhan (2D/Tamil) 4:15pmPagalpanti (2D/Hindi) 4:45pmLast Christmas (2D/Comedy) 7:00pmAdithya Varma (2D/Tamil) 8:15 & 11:15pmJack And Daniel (2D/Malayalam) 8:45 & 11:30pm10 Minutes Gone (2D/Action) 9:45pm21 Bridges (2D/Action) 11:30pm

Sanga Thamizhan (2D/Tamil) 2:15pmKabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi (2D/Nepali) 2:15pmFrozen II (2D/Animation) 2:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 & 7:30pm Aayushmanbhava (2D/Kannada) 5:00pm 21 Bridges (2D/Action) 8:00pmLast Christmas (2D/Comedy) 9:30pmBehind The Trees (2D/Horror) 9:45pm10 Minutes Gone (2D/Action) 7:00pmPagalpanti (2D/Hindi) 11:30pmJack And Daniel (2D/Malayalam) 8:45 & 11:30pmAdithya Varma (2D/Tamil) 11:15pm

REUTERS TOKYO

Boxing referees and judges involved in the Rio Olympics, who were all suspended following the Games, will not be allowed to officiate at Tokyo 2020, an Inter-national Olympic Committee task force said on Wednesday.

All 36 referees and judges from the Rio Olympics were sus-pended in the wake of the Games as the International Boxing Asso-ciation (AIBA) carried out an investigation, following allega-tions that Olympic fights were fixed.

Several judges and referees were sent home from Rio fol-lowing a number of questionable decisions during the boxing tournament.

While AIBA’s investigation in 2017 found no interference in results and recommended that the Rio judges be reintegrated on

a “case by case basis”, the IOC’s new selection criteria ruled them ineligible for the Tokyo Games.

The task force said its decision followed discussions

with athletes to increase clarity, transparency and integrity in the selection process and officiating at the Olympics.

“The main objective of the IOC

boxing task force is to ensure the completion of the mission of deliv-ering events, while putting the boxers first, and with transparent and credible sporting results and

fair play,” boxing task force chair Morinari Watanabe said.

At Tokyo, referees and judges will be picked from a pool of offi-cials comprising qualified AIBA-certified individuals who have been reviewed to ensure they meet the selection criteria.

The boxing task force will then randomly select every official for each competition. The full selection process will be conducted under the inde-pendent supervision of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It was also announced that scores from all judges at the end of each round will be displayed publicly during qualifying com-petitions and the Games.

The task force was set up to organise qualifiers and the Tokyo Games competition following IOC’s decision to suspend AIBA in June until the issues sur-rounding its finances and gov-ernance were resolved.

SPORT17FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019

I’ve found a way to win matches many times in my career when I’ve not been

playing well. You can draw on that a little bit.

Andy Murray after

beating Tallon Griekspoor,

ranked 179, in Dreat

Britain’s Davis Cup tie

against Holland

TO

DA

Y’S

AC

TIO

N

Al Khor vs Al Gharafa (16:00) Al Wakrah StadiumAl Sailiya vs Al Duhail (18:10) Al Ahli StadiumQatar SC vs Al Arabi (18:10) Al Ahli Stadium

OOREDOO CUP: ROUND 3

Rio boxing officials will not feature at next Olympics: IOC

Kazakhstan toughens doping penaltiesAFP NUR-SULTAN, KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan yesterday passed a law toughening penalties for doping as the Central Asian country attempts to bolster a sporting image tainted by scandals.

Several Kazakh weight-lifters have tested positive for banned substances in recent years, moving international sporting authorities to strip them of their medals and reduce the number of berths allocated to the national team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The Kazakh senate approved legislation imposing fines of up to the equivalent of $1,300 for trainers and other sports officials who encourage athletes to dope.

Athletes who test positive for banned substances will also have to return generous state financial rewards for sporting achievements and lose sti-pends, while facing temporary disqualification from the national sports team.

Speaking in the senate yes-terday, Culture and Sport Min-ister Aktoty Rayimkulova said Kazakhstan would be limited to just two weightlifting berths at the 2020 Games -- one for the women’s competition and one for the men’s -- down from eight at the last games.

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Iran, India and Russia have also seen their weightlifting berths reduced in the measure to clean up the sport under pressure from the International Olympic Committee.

The anti-doping legislation had already been approved in Kazakhstan’s lower house and will become law when signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Two athletes who failed doping tests and were forced to return gold medals won in Beijing and London repre-sented Kazakhstan at the Inter-national Weightlifting Cham-pionships in Thailand in September.

A general view of the construction site of the Ariake Arena, venue for the volleyball and wheelchair basketball competitions in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympics in Tokyo.

Tokyo 2020 venues nearing completionREUTERS TOKYO

Construction at two Tokyo 2020 venues is nearing completion eight months before the start of the Olympics, as preparations for the Games enter the final stretch on schedule.

The elegant Tokyo Aquatics Centre, which will host swimming and diving at the Games, is 90% complete, according to the Tokyo Metro-politan Government (TMG), and

is on schedule to be finished at the end of February.

Likewise, the venue for vol-leyball and wheelchair bas-ketball is 98% finished with only the painting of the interior floor to be concluded.

All of the venues being built or refurbished for Tokyo 2020 are on schedule, including the centrepiece National Stadium, where construction work fin-ished last week.

“What is left to be done is to finish some of the interior and exterior roof, as well as

some office equipment for inside the building,” Daishu Tone, venue director for the Aquatics Centre Daishu Tone, said yesterday.

“Everything will be com-pleted by February next year.”

The Aquatics Centre, built at a cost of ¥56.7bn ($523m), will be the last new venue to be completed.

The swimming test event will take place at the Aquatics Centre on April 14-15.

Other than the Olympic

Stadium and the Olympic and Paralympic athletes village, TMG is building eight new com-petition venues for the Games.

Many of the other events are scheduled to be held at pre-existing venues in a bid to keep costs down.

The Games are set to run from July 24 to August 9.

A feature running t h r o u g h o u t many of

the Tokyo 2020 venues is the use of wood. Ariake Arena, the volleyball venue, features 880 cubic metres of wood, mainly sourced from Japan, which is the most of any of the sites other than the National Stadium.

After the Tokyo 2020 Games are over, the arena will be used for concerts and other cultural

events.

A boxing bout in progress at the Riocentro in Rio de

Janeiro during the 2016 Olympic Games.

Leonard, George combine to power Clippers past CelticsAFP LOS ANGELES

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 42 points in their first game together as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled out a 107-104 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

The game marked the first time George and Leonard played together since both joined the Clippers in the off-season.

Leonard, who scored 17 points on seven-of-20 shooting, was coming off a three game rest and George -- who missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury -- was playing in his fourth game.

Rivers said George, who finished with 25 points, is still trying to play himself into shape.

Lou Williams scored a team high 27 points and Patrick Beverley grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds to go along with 14 points and seven assists. JaMychal Green also added 10 points as Los Angeles won its third straight

game. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with a season-high 30 points. Marcus Smart recorded 15 points and eight assists, Brad Wanamaker added 14 points, and Kemba Walker had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Boston had their chances as Tatum missed a tying three-point attempt with two seconds left, and Leonard blocked Walker’s desperation three-point attempt just before the buzzer in overtime.

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic posted his league-leading seventh triple double

of the season en route to a 35-point performance as the Dallas Mavericks trounced the Golden State Warriors 142-94.

The 20-year-old Slovenian scored 35 points in just 26 minutes of playing time and he finished with 11 assists and 10 rebounds in front of a crowd of 19,500 at the American Airlines Center.

Doncic scored 33 of his points in the opening half en route to his second consecutive triple double. He was coming off a career-best, 42-point per-formance in a triple double Monday against San Antonio.

Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 20 points and went four-for-four from beyond the arc for the Mavs, who posted their third straight win to start a four-game homestand.

Rookie Eric Paschall led Golden State with 22 points.

Also, Nikola Jokic posted a season-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets snapped the Houston Rockets eight game win streak with a 105-95 win.

Los Angeles Clippers’ forward Kawhi Leonard moves to the basket during the first half of their game against Boston Celtics at Staples Center on Wednesday.

NBA RESULTSAtlanta 127, Milwaukee 135Brooklyn 101, Charlotte 91Miami 124, Cleveland 100Toronto 113, Orlando 97

LA Clippers 107, Boston 104Denver 105, Houston 95Chicago 109, Detroit 89Minnesota 95, Utah 103

Philadelphia 109, New York 104Washington 138, San Antonio 132

Dallas 142, Golden State 94

NFL: Browns’ Garrett appeals indefinite suspensionAGENCIES CLEVELAND

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett on Wednesday appealed his suspension for his on-field conduct last Thursday, when he took Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and hit Rudolph in the head, stating in his hearing that precedent doesn’t support his indefinite ban, ESPN reported.

Citing a source, ESPN’s Dan Graziano said Garrett and repre-sentatives from the players union argued in an appeal hearing in New York that a player involved in a similar incident in 2013 received only a three-game suspension.

In the hearing, Graziano reported, Garrett and his team likened the action to what happened in a 2013 preseason game when Antonio Smith of the Houston Texans swung his helmet at offensive lineman Richie Incognito, who then played for the Miami Dolphins.

18 FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019SPORT

PAKISTANShan Masood c Smith b Cummins ...... 27

Azhar Ali c Burns b Hazlewood ..........39

Haris Sohail c Paine b Starc ...................1

Asad Shafiq b Cummins ......................76

Babar Azam c Burns b Hazlewood .......1

Iftikhar Ahmed c Labuschagne b Lyon 7

M izwan c Paine b Cummins ............... 37

Yasir Shah b Starc ................................26

Shaheen Afridi c Paine b Starc .............0

Naseem Shah c and b Starc .................. 7

Imran Khan not out ............................... 5

Extras (b4, lb8, nb1, w1) .............14Total (86.2 overs) ..................... 240Fall of wickets: 1-75 (Masood), 2-75

(Azhar), 3-77, (Sohail), 4-78 (Azam), 5-94

(Iftikhar), 6-143 (Rizwan), 7-227 (Yasir),

8-227 (Afridi), 9-227 (Shafiq), 10-240

(Naseem)

Bowling: Starc 18.2-52-4 (1w), Hazle-

wood 20-6-46-2 (1nb), Cummins 22-7-

60-3, Lyon 17-3-40-1, Labuschagne 8-0-

24-0, Smith 1-0-6-0

SCOREBOARDAustralia strike in bursts to dismiss Pakistan for 240REUTERS SYDNEY

Mitchell Starc took four for 52 as a middle-session blitz and some late new-ball fireworks helped Australia dismiss Pakistan for 240 to bring a close to the opening day of the first test in Brisbane yesterday.

Pat Cummins took three wickets (3-60) and the third quick, Josh Hazlewood, grabbed two as the Australian bowlers took the honours on a sunny day at the Gabba.

Pakistan’s Asad Shafiq offered most resistance to the barrage from the Australian pace battalion with a fine knock of 76 before he was ousted by a Cummins delivery that removed his middle stump.

Left-armer Starc took the second new ball in the final hour of the day and made good use of it, dismissing Yasir Shah (26) with a trademark yorker and Shaheen Shah (0) in successive deliveries to put himself on a hat-trick.

Naseem Shah, the 16-year-old fast bowler who was playing his first Test, faced the next delivery and, without appearing to know much about it, managed to keep the ball from hitting his stumps with a thick inside edge.

The teenager was the last batsman to depart, caught and bowled by Starc for seven to bring an end to a day that ebbed and flowed with long periods of Pakistani resistance punctuated by bursts of wickets.

“In the end, not a bad result,”

said Australia captain Tim Paine. “We weren’t quite at our best in that first session, we thought we bowled a bit short... But apart from that we stuck to the task and got better as the day went on.”

After losing the toss, Aus-tralia had been frustrated by an opening stand of 75 from Azhar Ali (39) and Shan Masood (27) in a partnership that lasted throughout the first session and into the second.

The Australian quicks finally

found their length, however, and removed both in three deliveries before swiftly adding the wickets of Haris Sohail and Babar Azam for one run apiece.

That spell of four wickets at the cost of three runs had the tourists rocking and a rout looked in order when Iftikhar Ahmed departed for seven to leave Pakistan on 95-5.

Cummins was fortunate to make the next breakthrough when he dismissed Mohammad Rizwan for 37 as the replays,

when reviewed, showed what looked to be a no ball.

“I look at the scoreboard, it says a wicket,” Cummins added. “I’ll take it but I was really nervous until they put the finger up.”

Asad clearly enjoys playing Down Under, however, and backed up centuries in Pakistan’s two tour matches at a ground where he scored 137 when the tourists came close to chasing down an unlikely victory in 2016.

Reflecting the discipline that

the openers had earlier employed, he brought up his 24th test half century in a part-nership of 84 with Yasir before Australia took the new ball and seized the day.

“We are not too unhappy but it could have been a lot better,” said Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis. “The first session we thought would be difficult we got through pretty well, but then we gave it away. We need a really good session tomorrow to be in the game.”

Pakistan’s Naseem Shah plays a shot on day one of the first Test cricket match between Pakistan and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday.

WORLD’S YOUNGEST TEST DEBUTANTS

Hasan Raza 14y 227d Pakistan v Zimbabwe 24 Oct 1996

Mushtaq Mohammad 15y 124d Pakistan v West Indies 26 Mar 1959

Mohammad Sharif 15y 128d Bangladesh v Zimbabwe 19 Apr 2001

Aaqib Javed 16y 189d Pakistan v New Zealand 10 Feb 1989

Sachin Tendulkar 16y 205d India v Pakistan 15 Nov 1989

Aftab Baloch 16y 221d Pakistan v New Zealand 8 Nov 1969

Talha Jubair 16y 223d Bangladesh v Sri Lanka 21 Jul 2002

Nasim-ul-Ghani 16y 248d Pakistan v West Indies 17 Jan 1958

Naseem Shah 16y 279d Pakistan v Australia 21 Nov 2019

Enamul Haque jnr 16y 320d Bangladesh v England 21 Oct 2003

Khalid Hasan 16y 352d Pakistan v England 1 Jul 1954

England’s Ben Stokes hits a shot on day one of the first Test cricket match between England and New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui yesterday.

‘He’s a bit of a freak’: England’s star Stokes torments New Zealand againAFP MOUNT MAUNGANUI

New Zealand targeted the wicket of “freak” Ben Stokes yesterday as they battle to get back into the first Test against England at Mount Maunganui.

The honours were even when the New Zealand-born Stokes went to the middle just before tea on day one with England 120 for three.

But by stumps, with Stokes in imperious form, the score had doubled and England will resume on Friday on 241 for four, with the 28-year-old all-rounder unbeaten on 67.

“He’s a special talent. He’s a bit of a freak at times,” New Zealand short-ball specialist Neil Wagner said after Stokes clubbed his bouncers four times to the boundary.

“Everyone wants to get him out because you know what an important wicket it is... but that’s

my thing, we always try and strive to get the good players out.”

Stokes has tormented New Zealand this year after he played a key role in England’s nail-biting victory on boundary countback in the 50-over World Cup final in July.

As well as dispatching

Wagner’s short stuff, he also showed a liking for the fuller delivery when he took four boundaries off successive balls from Trent Boult, including one that burst through the hands of the usually reliable Ross Taylor at first slip.

It was a drop that frustrated the New Zealanders who had

earlier seen opener Rory Burns survive three chances including a waist-high edge that went between Taylor and Tom Latham in the slip cordon.

However, Wagner believed that despite England going into day two with six wickets in hand, the game was not out of New Zealand’s control.

“They haven’t got away from us. If we can come in the morning and get a couple of early wickets and put it back on them we’ll be in a really good position. I think we’re happy with where we are at.”

Stokes and Joe Denly (74) put on 83 for the fourth wicket to lift England after they had slowly accumulated runs through the first two sessions against a New Zealand bowling tight lines.

Denly had been locked in a fascinating battle with Wagner where the edges fell short of the cordon, and balls that did beat the bat then missed the stumps.

ENGLAND

R. Burns c Watling b de Grandhomme 52

Sibley c Taylor b de Grandhomme .. 22

J. Denly c Watling b Southee ........... 74

J. Root c Southee b Wagner ............... 2

B. Stokes not out .............................. 67

O. Pope not out .................................. 18

Extras: (b1, lb4, nb1) ................... 6 Total: (four wickets, 90 overs) 241 Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Sibley), 2-113

(Burns), 3-120 (Root), 4-203 (Denly)

To bat: J. Buttler, S. Curran, J. Archer,

M. Leach, S. Broad

BOWLING: Boult 22-6-61-0, Southee

21-6-46-1, de Grandhomme 19-5-28-2

(nb1), Wagner 23-4-77-1, Santner 5-0-

24-0

New Zealand: J. Raval, T. Latham, K.

Williamson, R.Taylor, H. Nicholls, B.

Watling, C. de Grandhomme, M. Santner,

T. Southee, N. Wagner, T. Boult

Toss: England

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI),

Bruce Oxenford (AUS)

TV Umpire: Paul Wilson (AUS)

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

SCOREBOARD

“What we were trying to do was set

up the game the way we have -- establish yourself and try and bat big first innings. It’s quite enjoyable

really. He’s a competitor and it’s always a different

challenge to someone who is pitching it up, swinging it, and he

bowls short stuff more than fuller stuff and

it’s always a challenge and it’s a good one to have.”

England opener Rory Burns

“It’s a tough one, it’s hard to say it was

or wasn’t a no-ball. Touch and go, could have gone to either

side. When you look at it closely it might be just over the line. To

be fair I think it was a no-ball.”

Waqar Younis, the bowling coach, on a TV call that went against Pakistan’s

Mohammad Rizwan.

“I think that’s the wrong call. I think

it’s a no-ball and he should be recalled.”

Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie

said on ABC Radio.

India’s captain Kohli hopes the day-night Test is ‘one-off’AFP KOLKATA

Skipper Virat Kohli said yesterday he welcomed the “buzz” around India’s grand day-night Test debut but said pink-ball matches should not become a regular occurrence.

India begin their pink-ball journey against Bangladesh today in Kolkata, with the first four days sold out, contrasting with daytime Tests in India when crowds are often sparse.

“This can be a one-off thing. It should not in my opinion become a regular scenario, because then you are losing out on that nerv-ousness of the first session in the morning,” Kohli told reporters at Eden Gardens.

“The entertainment of Test cricket lies in the fact that the batsman is trying to survive a session and the bowler trying to get a batsman out.”

But he added: “It’s great to create more buzz around Test cricket.”Day-night Tests, aimed at increasing crowds and TV audiences

for the longer format, were successfully introduced in 2015 when Australia played New Zealand in Adelaide.

England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies have all played at least one day-night Test.

But until now, India have kept away, with its cricket board last year refusing to play a day-night Test in Adelaide.

“Obviously, we wanted to get a feel of pink-ball cricket. Even-tually it had to happen,” said Kohli.

India lead the two-match series 1-0 after thrashing Bangladesh at Indore inside three days -- to largely empty stands.

India’s star batsman said that he found a few challenges facing the pink ball compared with the red ball used in regular daytime Tests.

“The one thing that surprised me was the fielding sessions. How in the slips the ball hit your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball,” Kohli said.

India’s cricket team captain Virat Kohli walks after a practice session at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata ahead of the second Test cricket match between India and Bangladesh.

19FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2019 SPORT

Pressure on Man City ahead of Chelsea clashREUTERS MANCHESTER

It has been a long two weeks for Pep Guardiola, left to stew on Manchester City’s defeat to leaders Liverpool, while his players were away on inter-national duty.

The 3-1 loss at Anfield left City in fourth place, trailing Juergen Klopp’s side by nine points with little room for further error.

The increased pressure can be felt heading into tomor-row’s return to action when in-form Chelsea visit the Etihad, buzzing with youthful confidence after a run of six straight victories in the league.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, who ended his Premier League career with a season at City, has won plaudits for the way he has got the best out of home-grown players.

Striker Tammy Abraham and midfielder Mason Mount spent last season on loan in the second-tier Championship but have become England inter-nationals after Lampard gave them the chance to shine in the top flight.

Yet Chelsea’s run of form needs to be put in context - all six of their consecutive wins were against sides they were expected to beat and they have lost on the two occasions they have faced big-name oppo-sition this season -- at Man-chester United on the opening day and at home to Liverpool

in September. This game, therefore, will be an indicator of just how far Lampard has gone in creating a top-four side. For City, however, it is an encounter in which they simply cannot afford to slip-up.

Failure to beat Chelsea could leave Liverpool with a double-figures advantage over the champions and it would take a major slump in form for Klopp’s men to let that sort of lead slip.

Chelsea need no reminders

that when the pressure is on, City have a habit of responding in devastating fashion.

In the corresponding fixture last season, City’s Argentine striker Sergio Aguero grabbed a hat-trick as the Londoners, then under Italian Maurizio Sarri, were hammered 6-0 after con-ceding four goals in the opening 25 minutes.

Tomorrow’s game at the Etihad is the standout fixture of the weekend but the match between West Ham United and

Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium earlier in the day is also generating plenty of interest given the mana-gerial change at Spurs.

Less than a year after his dismissal from Manchester United, Jose Mourinho is back, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, looking to improve a team that is lan-guishing in 14th place.

Liverpool are up against their former manager Roy Hodgson when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park while the pressure is on Arse-nal’s Spanish boss Unai Emery, who badly needs a win at home to 19th-placed Southampton.

The pick of the promoted teams, Sheffield United, who are riding high in fifth place, face Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United on Sunday.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks dejected during game against Liverpool in this November 10 file photo.

The 3-1 loss at Anfield

leaves City in fourth

place, trailing Juergen

Klopp’s side by nine

points with little room

for further error.

The increased pressure

can be felt heading

into tomorrow’s return

to action when in-form

Chelsea visit the

Etihad, buzzing with

youthful confidence

after a run of six

straight victories.

Spurs’ doors will always be open for Pochettino: Mourinho

AC Milan offer Swede star Ibrahimovic six-month deal: Reports

REUTERS LONDON

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino and backed the Argentine to find happiness again at a different club.

Speaking in his first news con-ference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash against West Ham United, Mourinho said the club’s door will always be open for Pochettino, who guided Spurs to the Champions League final last season.

“I have to congratulate him on the incredible job he did,” Mourinho said yesterday. “This club will always be his home, this training ground his training ground. He is always welcome here.

“Tomorrow is another day. He will find happiness soon. He will give everything like he did at this club. He will leave with sadness with the feeling that he did great work. It is what everyone at the club felt.”

Mourinho, who took charge of the north London club on Wednesday, has inherited a squad that finished in the Premier League’s top four in four consecutive seasons, but are currently 14th after a poor start to the campaign.

The Portuguese returns to club management 11 months after being sacked by Manchester United., where he made a poor start to last season and was criticised by fans and pundits for playing dull, defence-minded football.

“I’m not going to make the same mistakes. I’m going to make new mistakes. I’m going to be stronger,” Mourinho said.

AFP MILAN

Swede star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been offered a six-month deal to come to the aid of strug-gling former Italian giants AC Milan, according to reports in Italy yesterday.

The 38-year-old striker con-firmed his departure from Los Angeles Galaxy last week fol-lowing the club’s elimination from the Major League Soccer play-offs.

Gazzetta dello Sport and Sky Sports Italia reported that the former seven-time European champions have now made contact with the player’s agent Mino Raiola.

The US-owned club want the former Swedish interna-tional for six months and are prepared to pay him six million euros ($6.6m) if he remains for 18 months in total, Gazzetta claimed.

Milan finished fifth last season, missing out on a return to Champions League football by just a point to city rivals Inter.

They have had a poor start to this campaign and are 14th after 12 games before they host last year’s runners-up Napoli on Saturday in the San Siro.

Ibrahimovic played for two seasons between 2010 and 2012 with AC Milan, helping them to their last Serie A title, and scoring 42 goals in 61 league appearances.

La Liga: Real Madrid wary of Odegaard threat for SociedadREUTERS MADRID

Second-placed Real Madrid host Real Sociedad tomorrow, hoping their decision to loan Martin Odegaard to their fellow high-flyers will not come back to haunt them.

Odegaard joined Real at 16 in 2015, making just one appearance for the first team before embarking on a series of loans, first in the Nether-lands and now in the Basque Country, where he is due to stay for another season.

The forward has been in fine form, scoring two and

setting up three, as Sociedad have made a brilliant start to coach Imanol Alguacil’s first full season at the helm. They sit two points behind Real with 23 from their 13 games.

“It’s a special game for me,” Odegaard said.

“But truth be told, it doesn’t matter if it’s against Madrid or any other side, all I want to do is play.

“I think that we’ve made a good start to the season. We’re up towards the top, which is where we want to be, and I’m happy with how I’m playing too.

“My goal is to make it at Real Madrid. That’s why I

signed for them, to play there. I’m in no rush, though. I’m happy here and if I play for Madrid two or five years down the line, it doesn’t matter.”

Real will be without James Rodriguez for the game, but could welcome back Gareth Bale who has not played for the club since October, but was involved in both games as Wales qual-ified for Euro 2020 this week.

Barcelona, who sit top of the table ahead of Real on goal difference, head to bottom side Leganes earlier tomorrow.

The minnows caused a

shock last season with a stunning 2-1 victory against the Catalans, and will be hoping to take advantage of their opponents’ mixed start to the season to spring another surprise.

Unfortunately for them, Lionel Messi continued his outstanding goalscoring form over the international break, netting in both of Argentina’s games to make it 11 goals in his last nine appearances for club and country.

Third-placed Atletico Madrid visit surprise package Granada on Saturday, while Eibar host Alaves in a Basque derby on Sunday.

Real Sociedad’s Martin Odegaard (left) in action with Atletico Madrid’s Marcos Llorente in this September 14, 2019 file photo.

Davis Cup: Serbia secure quarter-final berthREUTERS MADRID

Serbia sealed their place in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in straightforward fashion yesterday, brushing France aside to join Spain, Australia, Canada, Russia and Germany in a powerful-looking knockout phase.

Filip Krajinovic’s opening 7-5, 7-6 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga effectively guaranteed Serbia their last-eight spot before Novak Djokovic beat Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-3 to put them 2-0 ahead in the Group A clash at La Caja Magica.

Djokovic, who inspired his nation to the title in 2010, is now on a 14-match winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches.

Germany made sure of their place in the last-eight when veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in the opening rubber of their Group C tie.

Even a 2-1 defeat for the

Germans would mean they qualify in first place ahead of Argentina who were left to sweat on scraping through as one of the best two runners-up.

Britain rested Andy Murray for their deciding clash in Group E against Kazakhstan after his near three-hour singles thriller during his coun-try’s 2-1 win over the Nether-lands on Wednesday.

His replacement Kyle Edmund beat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-3 before Dan Evans lost to youngster Alexander Bublik, who was cheered on by a couple of hundred colourful Kazakh fans equipped with drums and trombones.

The match will be decided by the doubles clash scheduled to

be between Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski and the Kazakh pairing of Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.

Whichever nation wins that will top the group and face G e r m a n y i n t h e quarter-finals.

Later, the first quarter-final takes place when an impressive-looking Australia side take on Canada, who have enjoyed the benefit of a rest day.

Yesterday’s schedule looked far less complicated than on the previous two days when play has finished in the small hours, attracting criticism about the new Davis Cup format.

The previous night the US and Italy contested what was effectively a dead rubber until 4am.

This is the first edition of 119-year-old Davis Cup since the ITF voted to change from the old year-long World Group featuring home and away ties to an 18-nation showdown in one venue played over a week.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his match against France’s Benoit Paire at the Davis Cup in Madrid, yesterday.

Serbia brush aside France to join Spain, Australia, Canada, Russia and Germany in knockout phase.

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Arabian Gulf Cup 2019 is preparing to deliver the most memorable edition of the upcoming regional tournament, which is expected to see packed stadiums owing to overwhelming response to tickets sales.

The eight-nation tournament begins on November 26 with the Asian champions and hosts Qatar scheduled to take on Iraq in the opening game at the Khalifa International Stadium (KIS) – one of the eight FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 venues.

Yesterday, the LOC of the Gulf Cup held a press conference at (KIS) informing about extensive arrangements being made for the 13-day event, which is expected to be the most thrilling edition in long history of the competition.

LOC Director of Marketing, Khalid Al Kuwari; LOC Director of Venue Operations and Overlay, Jassim Al Jassim; MoCS Director

of Culture and Arts Department, Hamad Mohammed Al Zakiba; Stadium Traffic Leaders - First Lieutenant, Ali Rashid Al Ateeq and First Lieutenant, Salem Mubarak Al Buainain, spoke on the occasion.

While expressing his delight on response of tickets sales, Al Kuwari said the organisers will leave no stone unturned in making the event a huge success.

“Around 35,000 tickets for all the matches are already sold. In terms of numbers Qatari fans bought the most tickets followed by enthusiasts from Kuwait and Oman respectively. The tickets are still available at the major malls, Katara and online. I urge fans to buy tickets as soon as possible to avoid last-minute rush,” Al Kuwari said yesterday.

“There will be lots of activ-ities at both the stadiums and I am sure fans will enjoy the atmosphere in around the tour-nament. It is a very important tournament for all the Qataris

and I appeal to all Qatar fans as well as enthusiasts from other participating countries to come and support their players,” he added.

Al Jassim, meanwhile, said apart from exciting action on the turf, fans will enjoy plenty of other entertainment pro-grammes, which will be held during the tournament.

“This is the first time that the Gulf Cup is taking place at a World Cup venue. So we are trying to hold operations like a drill for the World Cup 2022 for this tournament, which is very close to our hearts as Qataris and as Gulf nationals. People who want to get the feeling of Qatar 2022 can come and attend the matches during the Gulf Cup,” said Al Jassim.

“There will be a fan zone where musical performances for fans will be arranged. There will be majalis and many other pre-match activities. The activities will start with the gate opening at 4.30pm. As many as 900

mostly volunteers will be working for the activities and I promise everyone it will be fun and very nice,” he said before adding: “Promotion for the tour-nament is already in full swing and mascot’s ‘Sodefi’ trips to

Oman and Kuwait were highly successful.”

On his part, Al Buainain said Traffic Police Department will make all out efforts to ensure smooth traffic and facilitate the fans.

“We advise fans to come early to avoid inconvenience because the match days will be very crowded. There will be enough parking space as we have slots for 10,000 cars. Fans can use QR codes on tickets to check their designated parking area. Fans can also use Doha Metro Gold Line which will be very con-venient,” said Al Buainain.

The participating teams for the Gulf are divided into two Groups. Besides, hosts Qatar and Iraq, Group A also includes UAE and Yemen, while Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain form Group B.

Iraq arrived in Doha on Wednesday and have started training yesterday ahead of their opener against the home side. The final of the event will be played on December 8.

This is the first time that the Gulf Cup is taking place at a World Cup venue. So we are trying to hold operations like a drill for the World Cup 2022 for this tournament, which is very close to our hearts as Qataris and as Gulf nationals. People who want to get the feeling of Qatar 2022 can come and attend the matches during the Gulf Cup: LOC Director of Venue Operations and Overlay, Jassim Al Jassim

Extensive arrangements being

made for the 13-day event.

Tickets are still available

at major malls, Katara and

online.

Fans can enjoy plenty of other

entertainment programmes

on and away from the venues.

More than 900 individuals,

mostly volunteers assigned

to assist fans.

The eight-nation tournament

begins on November 26.

SPORTPAGE | 18 PAGE | 19

Australia strike in bursts to

dismiss Pakistan for 240

Djokovic sends Serbia through to last eight at Davis Cup

Friday 22 November 2019

Gulf Cup: 35,000 tickets already soldas Doha braces for Qatar 2022 ‘drill’

d

WORLDSBK DOHA

The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organisation have announced the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar with 13 rounds confirmed. Taking place across 11 different countries and four different continents, the 2020 WorldSBK season will once again begin Down Under.

The fascinating Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit will host the traditional season opener in Australia from Feb-ruary 28 - March 1, and the final pre-season Official test for WorldSBK and WorldSSP on February 24 and 25, the week

before the first round of the year.

New for 2020, WorldSBK and WorldSSP will fly then to Qatar, a few weeks after Aus-tralia, to compete under the dazzling floodlights of Losail International Circuit for Round Two of the season from March 13-15.

As usual, the Qatar Round will be held at night with action beginning on Friday and the three WorldSBK races taking place between Saturday and Sunday.

Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto will host the first European Round for 2020 from March 27-29, welcoming back WorldSSP300 to the action.

From Spain, the paddock will move north to The Netherlands at the historic “Cathedral of Speed” of TT Circuit Assen for Round 4 from April 17-19.

More WorldSBK classic battles are expected in May as Round 5 will take place at the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola in Italy, from May 8-10, before the Champi-onship will return to Spain from May 22-24 at MotorLand Aragón.

The sunny Riviera di Rimini will host Round 7 at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli from June 12-14, a second chance for the Italian fans to enjoy the outstanding battles of the Cham-pionship in their country. After a short break, the MOTUL FIM

Superbike World Championship will return into action for another “classic”, the UK Round at Donington Park circuit from July 3-5, 2020.

Fans won’t miss WorldSBK during their Holidays as a fresh addition on the 2020 Calendar will ensure more racing action in the Summer. From July 31-August 2 the Championship will return to Germany to compete at Mot-osport Arena Oschersleben for Round 9 of the year.

An action-packed Sep-tember awaits WorldSBK, WorldSSP and WorldSSP300 in 2020. From September 4- 6, Portimao in Portugal will welcome the series at its roller-coaster style circuit Autodromo

Internacional do Algarve. Then from September 18-20

the World Championship will make its debut at the famous Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya, which will host the series for the first time ever. After Spain, WorldSBK will head straight to France a week later for the final European round of the year – and the last round for WorldSSP300 - at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

The last chequered flag for 2020 will be waved in South America, as Circuito San Juan Villicum in Argentina will host the season finale. On top of this, there will be an official mid-season test, still to be announced.

Riders in action during an earlier edition of the FIM Superbike World

Championship at the Losail International Circuit in this file photo.

Traffic Police

Department will

make all out efforts

to ensure smooth

traffic and facilitate

the fans. There will

be enough parking

space as there are

slots for 10,000

cars. Fans can use

QR codes on tickets

to check their

designated parking

area. Fans can also

use Doha Metro Gold

Line to travel to

Khalifa International

Stadium.

Qatar to host WSBK, WSSP Round 2 in MarchFIM and Dorna WSBK

Organisation announces

the 13-round calendar

for 2020 MOTUL FIM

Superbike World

Championship.

Phillip Island Grand

Prix Circuit to kick off

the season before top

riders return to Losail

International Circuit for

season’s only night race.

The races will take

place across 11 different

countries and four

different continents.

Qatari players in action during a practice session on the eve of their 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualifier against Afghanistan in Tajikistan in this file photo.

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